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(Author) 



J. OGDEN MURRAY 
Secretary of the 600 



THE 

IMMORTAL SIX 

HUNDRED 



A STORY OF CRUELTY TO CONFED- 
ERATE PRISONERS OF WAR 



BY 

MAJOR J. OGDEN MURRAY 

ONE OF THE SIX HUNDRED 



ROANOKE, VA. 

THE STONE PRINTING AND 

MANUFACTURING CO. 

1911 



M^'-'l 



Copyright, 1911, by 
J. Ogden Murray. 



Published, December, 1911. 



All Rights Reserved. 



Price, $2.00. 



©CI.A305324 



DEDICATION 



To the dead and living comrades of the Im- 
mortal Six Hundred, — Confederate officers, pris- 
oners of war, — who were confined in the stockade 
on Morris Island, South Carolina, under fire of 
our own guns shelling that island; and who were 
subsequently starved on rations of rotten corn 
meal and onion pickle at Fort Pulaski, Georgia, 
and Hilton Head, South Carolina, 1864-65, by or- 
der of Edwin M. Stanton, United States Secretary 
of War — to all who remained true unto the end, 
under the terrible ordeal of fire and starvation, 
this history is affectionately inscribed with a com- 
rade's love, 

J. OGDEN MURRAY. 



P REF A C E 



IN presenting this Second Edition of the histor>^ 
of the Six Hundred Confederate Officers, 
Prisoners of War, who were placed on Morris 
Island, S. C, under fire of their own guns 
shelling that Island in 1864-65, and the wanton 
cruelty subsequently inflicted upon them by order of 
the United States Government, it is told without 
malice. But it is told to refute the slanders made 
by the pulpits and press of the North that the 
Confederate Government was inhuman and cruel 
to Union prisoners of war in Southern prisons. 

We shall tell the story truthfully and backed, 
as the story is, by the official orders and records 
of the United States Government, we do hope to 
prove the South was not guilty of the charges made 
against it. But that the real culprits guilty of 
inhumanity to prisoners of war, was the Secre- 
tary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, and his col- 
leagues in Washington City, in 1861-1865. The 
charges of cruelty, made against President Davis 
and the Confederate Government to the Union 
prisoners of war, in Southern prisons, were made 
by these officials to hide from the people of the 
North those really guilty of the inhumanity, and 
shift from their own shoulders, the responsibility 
of violating the cartel of exchange, which was 
the cause of all the suffering of Union prisoners 
of war in Southern prisons. The Confederate author- 



P REF A C E 



ities did all they could do, to alleviate the lot of 
the unfortunates that the fate of war threw into 
their hands. Whatever the Confederate soldier 
received in the field as ration, was given to the 
Union prisoners of war, and Mr. Edwin M. Stan- 
ton was fully informed, officially and otherwise, 
of this tact. The charges that the Con- 
federate authorities refused to make exchange 
of prisoners of war, were made at a time when pas- 
sion was at fever heat in the North, and the charges 
were made and circulated to conceal from the 
people of the North, the real culprits who were 
responsible for the home sickness, and troubles 
of the Union prisoners of war confined in the 
South. 

Capt. J. Madison Page, 2d Wisconsin 
Volunteers, U. S. A., a gallant Union soldier, in 
his book the "True Andersonville" charges all 
the discomforts of the Union prisoners of war 
to Mr. Stanton and the Washington authorities, 
for violating the exchange cartel; surely this gal- 
lant soldier's word will be accepted by the North. 
Read what Mr. Charles A. Dana says. He was 
Stanton's Assistant Secretary of War, 1861-65. 
Read what the commission appointed by the 
United States Government, to investigate North- 
ern Military prisons say of the conditions they 
found, and see where the blame of cruelty rests. 
Read General Grant's request and order to stop 



P REF A C E 



exchange and why he wanted exchanges stopped. 
Read H. W. Halleck's, General, U. S. A., order 
to stop all exchanges of prisoners of war, and we 
think this alone should convince those who slan- 
der Mr. Davis and the Confederate authorities 
just where the responsibility rests. It was the 
inhuman orders to stop exchanges, issued by 
the Washington authorities that made both Union 
and Confederate prisoners of war suffer. The 
Confederate authorities had no say in these or- 
ders. Read D. A. M. Clark's, U. S. A., report 
on Northern Military prisons. Read General 
J. G. Foster's, U. S. A., authority to place Con- 
federate prisoners of war on Morris Island, S. C, 
under fire of their own guns shelling that Island. 
Read what General Scammell, et al, U. S. officers 
confined in Charleston, S. C, prisoners of war, 
tell General Foster of their treatment, and the 
letter is official. And when you read these proofs, 
honestly say who was guilty of inhumanity to help- 
less prisoners of war. 

All we ask is that the truth shall be told. 
If the truth shows the South or Confederate au- 
thorities to have been guilty of cruelty to pris- 
oners of war, then they should be held up to the 
scorn of the civilized world. We cannot change 
the Record now, it must stand. And we say with- 
out the least fear of contradiction, that the Con- 
federate Government never by order, fed Union 



P REF A C E 



prisoner's of war on rotten corn meal and acid 
pickle, the corn meal ground in 1861, and when 
fed to the Six Hundred, was filled with bugs and 
worms. V\ ho was responsible for this cruelty? 
Let's have the truth and fix the responsibility 
for this cruelty; that if it was not inflicted by or- 
der of the United States Government, she may 
purge herself of this crime before the world. Let's 
have the truth that the future historians may 
be able to place before the world the men guilty 
of inhumanity to prisoners of war. Find, if it is 
possible to do so, such an order to feed men on 
rotten corn meal and acid pickle, in the Records 
of the Confederate Government, as this order of 
Stanton, Poster, et al. Read the report of General 
C. Grover, U. S. A., on condition of the Six Hun- 
dred Confederate prisoners of war at Fort Pu- 
laski, Ga. 

Headquarters, Dist. of Savannah. 
Savannah, Ga., Feb. 7, 1865. 

AssT. Adjt. General. 
Headquarters Department of the South: — 

My medical director yesterday inspected the 
condition of the Rebel prisoners confined at Fort 
Pulaski, and represents that they are in a con- 
dition of great sufifering and exhaustion for want 
of sufficient food and clothing; also, that they 



PREFACE 



have scurvy to a considerable extent. He rec- 
ommends, as a necessary sanitary measure, that 
they be at once put on full prison rations: and, 
also, that they be allowed to receive necessary 
articles of clothing from friends. I would re- 
spectfully endorse the surgeon's recommenda- 
tion, and ask authority to take such steps as may 
be necessary to relieve actual sickness and sufEer- 

'"^' C. Grover, U. S. a.. 

Brev. Maj. Gen. Commanding. 

(See War Record, p. 162, Vol. xxxv.) 

To-d£y there is abundant proof to show the 
most biased mind, that President Jefferson Davis 
and Genera Robert E. Lee, did protest against 
the violation of the cartel of exchange, and did 
offer, for hunanity's sake, to turn over to the 
United States all the wounded and sick Union 
prisoners of war held in the South, if the United 
States would seid transports and take them away, 
and finally. General Robert E. Lee, in humanity's 
name, said "Come and get all your prisoners of 
war, we cannot f%ed them, nor get medicines to 
keep them in heath." All offers to exchange 
or send for their prisoners were rejected by Mr. 
Secretary Stanton, en part of the United States 
Government, and th^ as every one now knows 
was the cruelty inflicted on the prisoners of war 



PREFACE 



in the South, and was not inflicted nor sanctioned 
by the Confederate Government. 

There never was a Union soldier, prisoner of 
war, in the South placed under fire of his own 
guns by order of any one, and there is not one 
particle of proof that can show there was, but 
there is an abundance of proof to show the wanton 
cruelty of the United States to its prisoners of 
war, 1864-65, and the above is proof from their 
own records. 

And it is a fact, proven beyond all [Question 
of doubt, that notwithstanding the South had 
no medicines, and could get none, to cure the sick, 
and keep men in health, that only nine 9) in each 
one hundred Union prisoners of war died in South- 
ern prisons, while twelve (12) in every hundred 
Confederate prisoners of war died in the prisons 
of the North, where medicine and food were 
abundant to keep men in health. TMs should be a 
vindication of the South and her people from the 
slander of cruelty, and would be, ^jut for the per- 
sistent slander of some of the pilpits and press 
of the North, that make the charges, to keep 
alive the hatred engendered b^' the war, which 
are used for political purposes, by the corrupt 
politicians who live politically on sectional hate. 

We want only the truth, we ask for nothing 
else. We want to refute the slanders against 
the South and her people. Jefferson Davis, Presi- 



1 



s 



P REF A C E 



dent of the Confederate States, nor General Robt. 

E. Lee, were never cruel to any human being. 

But Secretary of War Stanton and his colleagues 

in power at Washington, 1861-65, were and they 

were guilty of all prisoners of war suffering on 

both sides, by stopping exchanges of prisoners 

of war. 

The Author. 



M 



I 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter One — History of the incidents lead- 
ing up to the retaUation measures inflicted 
upon the six hundred Confederate officers, 
prisoners of war, with correspondence offi- 
cial between Gen. J. G. Foster, U. S. A., 
Department of the South, and Gen. Sam 
Jones, C. S. A., commanding Charleston, 
S. C. Violation of cartel, etc., etc 13 

Chapter Two — Fort Delaware. Rumors of 
exchange. Order to get ready for ex- 
change. Saying good-bye. Packing us 
on steamship "Crescent City." 59 

Chapter Three — March from old schooner 
hulk to prison stockade. Hot sun. Men 
sick forced to move on. Brutal white 
officers and nigger soldiers. Prison stock- 
ade. Water, rations and shelter 96 

Chapter Four — Hilton Head Prison 199 

Chapter Five — Account of escape from Fort 

Pulaski 233 

Chapter Six — Diary kept by Capt. A. M. 
Bedford, 3d Missouri Cavalry, while on 
Morris Island, S. C, prisoner of war at 
Hilton Head and Fort Pulaski 250 

List of the Immortals 320 

List of the prisoners of war who took the oath 

of allegiance 355 

11 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



CHAPTER ONE 

History of the incidents leading up to the retaliation 
measures inflicted upon the six hundred Con- 
federate officers, prisoners of war, with corre- 
spondence official between Gen. J. G. Foster, 
U. S. A., Department of the South, and Gen, 
Sam Jones, C. S. A., commanding Charleston, 
S. C. Violation of cartel, etc., etc. 

THERE is no apology to be made 
by me for the publication of this 
work or history of the six hundred 
Confederate officers, prisoners of war con- 
fined on Morris Island by order of the 
Federal Government. It is put in print 
for two reasons: First, to preserve the 
record of this gallant band; second, to 
give to the world a true history of the 
wanton cruelty inflicted upon helpless 
prisoners of war, without the least shadow 
of excuse. The only information that the 
United States Government had that there 
were six hundred Union soldiers, prison- 
ers of war, under fire in Charleston, S. C, 
was based upon the word of nmaway 



13 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

niggers, Confederate deserters, Union 
scallawags, and such people, whose word 
should not have been taken by any decent 
man without corroboration; yet Gen. J. G. 
Foster, U. S. A., commanding Depart- 
ment of the South, headquarters, Hilton 
Head, S. C, accepted the word of these 
creatures without question, and inflicted 
upon helpless prisoners of war cruelties 
that would have shamed Nero. 

There never were any Union prison- 
ers of war under fire of their own guns 
in any part of the South; there were never 
any prisoners of war treated with harsh- 
ness or cruelty by order of the Confed- 
erate Government authorities; but on the 
contrary all was done to lessen the burden 
of prison Hfe that could be done by the 
Richmond government, and men of the 
highest rank in the United States Army 
attest this fact. The cruelty charged 
against the South is as false as the 
tongues that utter it, and it has been 
proven false time and time again. Even 
Anderson ville, that much maligned prison, 



14 




CAPTAIN J. W. HELM 



(Merchant, retired) 



3 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

has been proven to have been a very para- 
dise in comparison to Camp Chase, Rock 
Island, Elmira, and other Yankee prisons. 

The treatment meted to the six hun- 
dred Confederate officers, prisoners of 
war, confined on Morris Island, S. C, by 
the United States Secretary of War, is 
a blot upon the escutcheon of the United 
States that can never be blotted out nor 
removed. It was cowardly, it was in- 
human, and cruel. The names of the 
men responsible for this cruelty must be 
written — and they will be written — upon 
history's blacklists of cruel men. Stan- 
ton, Foster, and Halleck, are names that 
must always cast a shadow upon the days 
of 1861-65. 

There can be no excuse given for 
cruelty. There is no justification for it 
under the laws of God or man, and it 
has never been proven, yet, that the Con- 
federate authorities treated or allowed 
to be treated harshly or unkindly Union 
prisoners of war. The stories told of 
cruelties to Union soldiers in Confeder- 



15 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ate prisons were the offsprings of the 
brains of perjured men, some of them 
never in a Confederate prison, nor never 
south beyond Washington City. The 
word of an ignorant nigger or a Con- 
federate deserter was given credence by 
the Washington authorities, when the tes- 
timony of, and letters of, such men as 
Generals Wessells, Scammon, and other 
honorable officers of the United States 
army, who were prisoners of war, was ig- 
nored. The records show most conclu- 
sively there were never any Union pris- 
oners of war under fire in Charleston 
City or at any other point in the Con- 
federacy; and, further, there never was 
any premediated and planned cruelty per- 
petrated upon Union prisoners of war in 
Southern prisons like that inflicted upon 
Confederate prisoners of war in Northern 
military prisons. There were men, no 
doubt, both in the North and South, who 
took delight in treating prisoners of war 
cruelly. Such men were both moral and 
physical cowards, and acted upon their 



16 



m 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

own responsibility; but I do say the au- 
thorities at Washington City did plan, or- 
der, and execute wantonly, cruelties upon 
Confederate prisoners of war that can 
not be justified under any pretext; and 
I claim that no proof can be produced 
that the Confederate Government did at 
any time countenance the slightest cruelty 
to its prisoners of war. The same rations 
given to the Confederate soldier in the 
field were issued to the Yankee prisoners 
of war in Confederate prisons. The 
greatest cruelty inflicted upon the Union 
prisoners of war in the South was inflicted 
by Edwin M. Stanton, United States Sec- 
retary of War, and Gen. U. S. Grant, 
when they refused to exchange prisoners 
of war. The records show that General 
Grant, by order of Stanton, stopped ex- 
change and inflicted whatever hardships 
upon their own men they did suffer by 
this suspension of exchange; and it is a 
matter of recorded proof that both Presi- 
dent Davis and Gen. Robert E. Lee, to 
alleviate the suffering of the prisoners of 



17 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

war in Southern prisons, offered, if the 
United States Government would send 
transports, to turn over all prisoners held 
by the Confederate authorities, in hu- 
manity's name. 

Here are two extracts from Union 
witnesses to prove on which side cruelty 
shall be charged, and I do not hesitate to 
say these witnesses do most effectively 
offset Libby or Andersonville if the stories 
of the prisons be true. 

On February 9, 1862, Judge Ould, 
Confederate States Commissioner of Ex- 
change wrote Colonel Ludlow, United 
States Exchange Commissioner: 

"I see from your own papers that some 
dozen of our men, captured at Arkansas Pass, 
were allowed to freeze to death in one night 
at Camp Douglas. I appeal to our common 
instincts against such atrocious inhumanity." 
(War Records, p. 257.) 

There is no denial of this charge to 
be found in the War Records. On May 
10, 1863, Dr. WilHam H. Van Buren, of 
New York, on behalf of the United States 



18 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

''Sanitary Commission," reported to the 
Secretary of War at Washington the con- 
dition of the hospitals of the prisoners of 
war at Camp Douglas, near Chicago, and 
Gratiot Street prison, St. Louis. In this 
report he incorporates the statements of 
Drs. Hun and Cogswell, of Albany, N. Y., 
who had been employed by the "Sanitary 
Commission" to inspect hospitals. And 
Dr. Van Buren commends these gentle- 
men as men of high character and emi- 
nent fitness for the work to which they 
had been assigned. It is from the state- 
ment of these northern gentlemen that I 
quote. They caption their report from 
Albany, April 5, 1863, and say, among 
other things, as follows : 

"In our experience, we have never wit- 
nessed so painful a spectacle as that presented 
by these wretched inmates; without change 
of clothing, covered with vermin, they lie in 
cots, without mattresses, or with mattresses 
furnished by private charity, without sheets 
or bedding of any kind, except blankets, often 
in rags; in wards reeking with filth and foul 
air. The stench is most offensive. We care- 



19 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

fully avoid all exaggeration of statement, but 
we give some facts which speak for themselves. 
From January 27, 1863, when the prisoners 
(in number about 3,800) arrived at Camp 
Douglas, to February 18th, the day of our 
visit, 385 patients have been admitted to the 
hospitals, of whom 130 have died. This mor- 
tality of Z3 per cent, does not express the 
whole truth, for of the 148 patients then re- 
maining in the hospital a large number must 
have since died. Besides this, 130 prisoners 
have died in barracks, not having been able to 
gain admission even to the miserable accom- 
modations of the hospital, and at the time 
of our visit 150 persons were sick in barracks 
waiting for room in hospital. Thus it will be 
seen that 260 out of the 3,800 prisoners had 
died in twenty-one days, a rate of mortaUty 
which, if continued, would secure their total 
extermination in about 320 days." 

Then they go on to describe the condi- 
tions at St. Louis, showing them to be 
worse than at Chicago, and after stating 
that the conditions of these prisons are 
' 'discreditable to a Christian people," they 
add: 

"It surely is not the intention of our 
20 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

government to place these prisoners in a posi- 
tion which will secure their extermination by 
pestilence in less than a year." 

See also Report of United States 
Surgeon A. M. Clarke, Vol. VI, Series 

71,p. 371, p. 113. 

Now let me ask this question: Why 
did not the representatives of this same 
''Sanitary Commission," when they were 
publishing their slanderous report of Sep- 
tember, 1864, as to the way Union prison- 
ers were treated in Southern prisons, 
which report they illustrated with skele- 
tons alleged to have come from Libby, 
Andersonville, and other prisons in the 
South, make at least mention of the con- 
dition of the things found by them in 
Camp Douglas and Gratiot Street prison 
hospitals? 

One word on violation of the ex- 
change cartel: On May 13, 1863, Judge 
Ould wrote Colonel Ludlow, calling his 
attention to the ''large number of Con- 
federate officers captured long since and 
still held by the United States," threat- 



21 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ened retaliation if the unjust and harsh 
course then pursued by the Federals to- 
wards our officers was persevered in, and 
concluded as follows : 

"Nothing is now left as to those whom 
our protests have failed to release but to 
resort to retaliation. The Confederate Gov- 
ernment is anxious to avoid a resort to that 
harsh measure. In its name I make a final 
appeal for that justice to our imprisoned of- 
ficers and men which your own agreements 
have declared to be their due." (War Rec- 
ords, p. 607.) 

Again on May 14, 1863, Judge Ould 
wrote, naming several of Mosby's men 
who had been carried to the Old Capitol 
prison. He then said : 

"They are retained under the allegation 
that they are bushwhackers and guerillas. 
Mosby's command is in the Confederate serv- 
ice, in every sense of the term. He is regularly 
commissioned, and his force is as strictly Con- 
federate as any in our army. Why is this 
done? This day I have cleaned every prison 
in my control as far as I know. If there is 
any detention anywhere, let me know and I 



22 




HONORABLE H. H. COOK 
TENNESSEE 
(Attorney at Law— Ex-Chancellor State) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

will rectify it. I am compelled to complain 
of this thing in almost every communication. 
You will not deem me passionate when I assure 
you it will not be endured any longer. If these 
men are not delivered, a stern retaliation will 
be made immediately." (Id., p. 632.) 

This being the condition of things. 
on May 25, 1863, the following order was 
issued by the Federals: 

War Department, Washington, D. C, 
May 25, 1863. 

General Schofield: 

No Confederate officer will be paroled 
or exchanged till further orders. They will be 
kept in close confinement, and be strongly 
guarded. Those already paroled will be con- 
fined. 

H. W. Halleck, 
General-in-Chief. 

Why was the cartel suspended? 
Surely not by request of the Confederate 
authorities. Who was responsible for 
this inhuman work that inflicted so much 
suffering upon the Union prisoners of 
war in the hands of the South that could 
not care for them nor feed them? 



23 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

The question is asked in all honesty, 
because this suspension of the cartel by 
the United States Government was the 
cause of the suffering of the Union pris- 
oners of war in the South. 

Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of 
War, and Gen. H. W. Halleck are respon- 
sible for the suffering of Union prison- 
ers of war in the South, and not President 
Davis nor the Confederate Government. 
Mr. Charles A. Dana, the Assistant Fed- 
eral Secretary of War, in an editorial in 
his paper, the New York ''Sun," said in 
commenting on a letter President Davis 
wrote to Mr. James Lyons in reply to 
some strictures Mr. Blaine had made upon 
the question of prisoners of war: 

"This letter shows clearly, we think, 
that the Confederate authorities, and especial- 
ly Mr. Davis, ought not to be held responsible 
for the terrible privations, sufferings and in- 
juries which our men had to endure while 
they were kept in Confederate military pris- 
ons. The fact is unquestionable, that while 
the Confederates desired to exchange prison- 
ers, to send our men home, and to get back 



24 



1 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

their own, General Grant steadily and strenuously 
resisted such an exchange. * * * 

"*It is hard on our men held in Southern pris- 
ons,' said Grant, in an official communication, 
'not to exchange them; but it is humane to those 
left in the ranks to fight our battles. If we com- | 

mence a system of exchanges which liberates all 1 

prisoners taken, we will have to fight on until the ' 

whole South is exterminated. If we hold those 
caught they are no more than dead men.' * * * 

"This evidence [says Dana] must be taken as 
conclusive. It proves that it was not the Confed- 
erate authorities who insisted on keeping our pris- 
oners in distress, want and disease, hut the commander 
of our own armies. * * * Moreover [says he] 
there is no evidence whatever, that it was practi- 
cable for the Confederate authorities to feed our 
prisoners any better than they were fed, or to give 
them any better care and attention than they re- 
ceived. The food was insufficient, the care and 
attention were insufficient, no doubt, and yet the 
condition of our prisoners was not worse than that 
of the Confederate soldiers in the field, except in 
so far as the condition of those in prison must of 
necessity be worse than that of men who are free 
and active outside." 



25 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

This is the statement of the Federal 
Assistant Secretary of War during the 
war, and he knew whereof he wrote. 
He was the man who ordered General 
Miles to put shackles on President Davis, 
and, as a fact, did hate Mr. Davis and all 
things Southern. Yet he did tell the 
truth, and is most conclusive, and puts the 
blame for the hardships of the Union sol- 
diers in Southern prisons where it be- 
longs, and clearly points out the guilty 
party. 

When we add to this the pregnant 
fact that the report of the Federal Secre- 
tary of war, Mr. Stanton, dated July 
19, 1866, shows that of the Federal pris- 
oners of war confined in the military 
prisons of the South, only 22,576 died, 
whilst of Confederate prisoners of war 
confined in Northern prisons, 26,436 died; 
the report of the Federal Surgeon-general 
Barnes, published after the war, showing 
that the whole nimiber of Federal prison- 
ers captured and held in the South during 
the war was 270,000, while the whole 



26 



1 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

number of Confederate prisoners confined 
in Northern prisons was 220,000 (from 
this report we see that while the South 
held 50,000 more prisoners of war than 
the North, the deaths in the South were 
four thousand less. The rate of deaths 
in Southern prisons was eight in each 100 
men. The rate in the Northern prisons 
of Confederates was twelve in each 100). 
I think it is useless to go further into 
discussion of this matter, but leave our 
case to the bar of impartial history. 

I hesitated before going into this 
history of the Immortal Six Himdred, 
but frequent requests of comrades of the 
six hundred, who were true unto the end 
of the ordeal, induced me to undertake the 
task and do the best I could in com- 
pliance with their request. I can only 
tell the story from a personal experience. 

There were many incidents that took 
place that did not come under my obser- 
vation, and not being able at this late 
date to obtain them, much must go un- 
told. I shall tell the story without malice 



27 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

or bitterness against those men respon- 
sible for our bad treatment. I have no 
bitterness against the men who wore the 
blue. The story is part of the unwritten 
history of the Confederate States; it is 
the story of the men who could surrender 
life, but not principle to save their lives. 
These men were the men who made the 
fame of the Confederate soldier, and gave 
the world an example of courage equal to 
that of Sparta or Rome. 

There shall be no exaggeration of 
facts. God knows the facts are ghastly 
enough without adding to them. I do not 
blame all men who wore the blue for our 
bad treatment. While prisoners of war 
we came in contact with some brave, hon- 
orable men, who appreciated our helpless 
condition; and they often showed us their 
humanity while in their custody. The 
bomb-proof fellows who were cruel to 
prisoners can have no part in the meetings 
of the brave men of to-day who come 
together clasping hands over the bloody 
past — forgetting its bitterness. 



28 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

"The man who hates knows no law but 
selfishness. They hate the precepts of the Mas- 
ter. They ignore His command, 'love thy neigh- 
bor'." 

There is no part of the conflict of 
1861-65 that has been so imperfectly told, 
and no subject of more importance than 
the history of the military prisons North 
and South. The story must be truthfully 
told by the historian. If it is not truth- 
fully told it cannot and should not have 
place in history. Nothing is history if it 
is not absolutely correct. If future gener- 
ations are to sit as judges of the past we 
must give them data of absolute truth 
upon which they can base a verdict. If 
we in the least deviate from this line judg- 
ment must be against us. 

In telling the story of the Six Hun- 
dred Immortals, — the Confederate offi- 
cers, prisoners of war, — who were taken 
from Fort Delaware prison in August, 
1864, by order of Edwin M. Stanton, 
Federal Secretary of War, and confined 
in a stockade on Morris Island, S. C, un- 



29 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

der fire of the Confederate batteries shell- 
ing that point, we will tell it truthfully, 
without the least exaggeration, that those 
who read may make honest judgment 
and render fair verdict. It's not intended 
that this work shall be a general history 
of military prisons. It is only a history 
of the Six Hundred Immortals that will 
refute, so far as it can, the repeated and 
almost constant charge made by the pulpit 
and press of the North that the Confed- 
erate authorities were cruel and inhuman 
to their prisoners of war. These charges 
of cruelty made by the North are worthy 
the attention of the South 's historians; 
and now that the passions of the war have, 
to a great degree, cooled, the facts can be 
presented and the responsibility fixed, so 
that when the Confederate soldier of the 
war of 1861-65 has passed over the picket 
line of life into the unknown land, and the 
honest verdict of history is rendered, our 
good names and records as soldiers will 
not be blackened by the blot of cruelty, 
nor our peerless leaders be painted by the 



30 




(Planter) 



LIEUTENANT MATT HITSON 
ARKANSAS 



'! 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

tongue of slander with cruelty to prison- 
ers of war. 

I will corroborate my story of the 
Immortal Six Hundred by the official 
records, so far as the United States Gov- 
ernment has printed the record under the 
supervision of the War Department. 

As stated before, this history is of the 
Six Hundred Immortals only. What led 
up to this cruel retaliation upon the six 
hundred prisoners of war by the United 
States Government is not very clear. 
From the official records we can only 
glean the fact that much stock was taken 
in the word and stories told by deserters, 
runaway niggers, and scallawags general- 
ly, without the least attempt by the 
United States officials to verify the truth 
of their statements. Below is the official 
correspondence. 



31 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Headquarters Department South Carolina, 
Georgia, and Florida. 

Charleston, S. C, June 13, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. John G. Foster, 

Commanding U. S. Forces, Coast of South 
Carolina. 

General : 

Five general officers and forty-five field officers 
of the United States Army, all of them prisoners 
of war, have been sent to this city for safe keeping. 
They have been turned over to Brigadier-General 
Ripley, commanding First Military District of this 
department, who will see that they are provided 
with commodious quarters in a part of the city 
occupied by non-combatants, the majority of whom 
are women and children. It is proper, however, 
that I should inform you that it is part of the city 
which has been for many months exposed day and 
night to the fire of your guns. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
Sam Jones, 
Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 

(War Records, Vol. xxxv, Part 2, p. 132.) 

In this letter Gen. Sam Jones says 
most clearly where the Union prisoners 
of war are quartered in Charleston City: 
''In that section of the city where the 



32 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



non-combatants — women and children — 
are housed." On June 16, 1864, Maj.- 
Gen. J. G. Foster repHed to General 
Jones's letter as follows : 

Headquarters Department of the South. 
Hilton Head, S. C, June 16, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. Samuel Jones, 

Commanding Confederate Forces, Department 
South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 

General: 

I have to acknowledge the receipt this day of 
your communication of the 13th instant, informing 
me that five generals and forty-five field officers 
of the United States Army — prisoners of war— have 
been sent to Charleston for safe keeping; that they 
have been turned over by you to Brigadier-General 
Ripley with instructions to see that they are pro- 
vided with quarters in a part of the city occupied 
by non-combatants, the majority of which latter, 
you state, are women and children. You add that 
you deem it proper to inform me that it is a part of 
the city which has been for many months exposed 
to the fire of our guns. 

Many months since Major-General Gillmore, 
U. S. A., notified General Beaureguard, then com- 
manding at Charleston, that the city would be 



2>Z 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

bombarded. This notice was given that non-com- 
batants might be removed and thus women and 
children be spared from harm. General Beaure- 
guard, in a communication to General Gillmore, 
dated 'August 22, 1863, informed him that the non- 
combatant population of Charleston would be re- 
moved with all possible celerity. That women and 
children have been since retained by you in a part 
of the city which has been for many months ex- 
posed to fire is a matter decided by your own sense 
of humanity. I must, however, protest against 
your action in thus placing defenseless prisoners of 
war in a position exposed to constant bombardment. 
It is an "indefensible act of cruelty, and can be de- 
signed only to prevent the continuance of our fire 
upon Charleston. That city is a depot of military 
supplies. It contains not merely arsenals but also 
foundries and factories for the manufacture of 
munitions of war. In its shipyards several iron- 
clads have already been completed, while others are 
still upon the stocks in course of construction. Its 
wharves and banks of the rivers on both sides of 
the city are lined with batteries. To destroy these 
means of continuing the war is, therefore, our ob- 
ject of duty. You seek to defeat this effort, not 
by means as known to honorable warfare, but by 



34 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

placing unarmed and helpless prisoners under our 
fire. 

I have forwarded your communication to the 
President, with the request that he will place in 
my custody an equal number of prisoners of like 
grades, to be kept by me in positions exposed to 
the fire of your guns so long as you continue the 
course stated in your communication. 

I have the honor to be 
Very respectfully your obedient servant, 

J. G. Foster, 
Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 

(War Records, Vol. xxxv. Part 2, pp. 134-135.) 

General Foster, after reply to Gen. 
Sam Jones's letter, sent to Washington 
the following letter by hand of his aide- 
de-camp, Maj. E. W. Strong, which was 
wired from Fortress Monroe to Wash- 
ington, D. C.: 

Fortress Monroe, Va., 

11:30 p. m., June 19, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. H. W. Halleck, 

Washington, D. C. 

I am directed by Major-General Foster to 
forward to you the following dispatch: 



35 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Headquarters South Carolina, 

via Fortress Monroe, Va. 

Maj.-Gen. Halleck, 

Washington, D. C. 

I have the honor to report that I have to-day 
received from Maj.-Gen. Sam Jones, commanding 
the Rebel forces in the department a letter stating 
that five general officers and forty-five field officers 
of the United States Army — prisoners of war — ^had 
been placed in Charleston City, to be retained 
there under fire. Against this wicked act I have 
protested. In meantime the fire on the city is 
continued. I respectfully ask that an equal num- 
ber of Rebel officers of equal rank may be sent to 
me in order that I may place them under the ene- 
my's fire as long as our officers are exposed in Charles- 
ton. I send Maj. E. W. Strong, in steamer "Mary 
A. Boardman," to Fortress Monroe to await your 
answer and, if my request is granted, to bring the 
prisoners. Copies of my correspondence will be 
mailed to you as soon as Major Strong arrives at 
Fortress Monroe. 

J. G. Foster, 

Major-General. 
E. N. Strong, 
Major, and aide-de-camp. 



36 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

General Foster did not state all the 
facts in his telegram to Washington City, 
nor did he think proper to await the due 
course of mail, but wired General Halleck 
a garbled and false statement of the facts 
in the case. (See War Records, Vol. 
XXXV, part 2, p. 141.) 

On June 27, 1864, the following let- 
ter was sent by General Halleck to Gen- 
eral Foster, which shows clearly how 
anxious these worthies were to begin their 
cruelty upon helpless human beings — 
prisoners of war. 

Washington, D. C, June 27, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. J. G. Foster, 

Department of the South. 

General : 

Your letter of 16th instant, transmitting the 
correspondence between yourself and the command- 
ing general of the Rebel forces at Charleston in re- 
gard to confining our officers — prisoners of war — 
in part of that city exposed to the fire of our batteries 
is just received. The Secretary of War has directed 
an equal number of Rebel generals and field officers 
to be sent to you, by Major Strong, to he treated in 



37 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

precisely the same manner as the enemy treats 
ours; that is, to be placed in a position where they 
will be most exposed to the fire of the Rebels. In 
whatever position they may be placed, whether in 
field or in batteries or vessels, you will take every 
proper precaution to prevent their escape or recap- 
ture, putting them in irons if necessary for that 
purpose. The Secretary of War directs on that 
point you will exercise great vigilance, and that 
the Rebel officers will he treated with same severity 
that they treat ours. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
H. W. Halleck, 
Maj.-Gen., Chief of Staff. 

(War Records, Vol. xxxv, Part 2, p. 143.) 

Had Gen. J. G. Foster, U. S. A., 
communicated by flag of truce, which he 
could have done, with his officers, the 
prisoners of war, in Charleston, he would 
have been saved the humiliation of having 
his letter and its statements refuted over 
the signatures, in a joint letter, of his own 
prisoners of war confined in Charleston 
City. They say in their letter they are not 
under fire, in no danger whatever, and are 



Z^ 




LIEUTENANT J. L. GREER 
TEXAS 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

treated humanely, courteously by the Con- 
federate authorities from the major-gen- 
eral down to the sentinels on guard. 

On June 23, 1864, Major Strong was 
sent the following order by Colonel Hoff- 
man, Commissary of Prisoners of War, 
U.S.A.: 

Office of the Commissary of Prisoners, 

Washington, D. C, June 23, 1864. 

Maj. E. N. Strong, A. D. C, 
Washington, D. C. 

Major: 

The Rebel prisoners of war, officers whom you 
are to receive to conduct to Major-General Foster 
at Hilton Head, S. C, are at Fort Delaware, and 
Brigadier-General Schoepf, the commanding officer 
at that post, has been instructed to deliver them 
to you. You will, therefore, proceed without delay, 
in the steamer provided for the purpose by the 
Quartermaster-General's Department, to Fort Dela- 
ware, and having received the generals and field 
officers referred to, you will return to Hilton Head, 
and deliver them to Major-General Foster, com- 
manding Department of the South. The guard 
detailed to accompany you from Fort Delaware 



39 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

is expected to return from Hilton Head with as 
little delay as possible. 

W. Hoffman, 

Colonel 3d Infantry, 

Commissary-General Prisoners. 

After receipt of this order Major 
Strong went to Fort Delaware, and the 
following Confederate officers were 
turned over to him to be, and were, taken 
to Hilton Head : 

Maj.-Gen. Edward Johnson, C. S. A. 
Maj.-Gen. Franklin Gardner, C. S. A. 
Brig.-Gen. J. J. Archer, C. S. A. 
Brig.-Gen. George H. Steuart, C. S. A. 
Brig.-Gen. M. Jeff. Thompson, C. S. A. 
Col. R. Welby Carter, 1st Va. Cav.i 
Col. N. Cobb, 44th Inft. 
Col. Basil W. Duke, Kentucky. 
Col. M. J. Ferguson, 16th Va. 
Col. J. M. Hanks, Kentucky. 
Col. Richard C. Morgan, Kentucky. 
Col. James A. Pell, Kentucky. 
Col. W. H. Peebles, Georgia. 
Col. A. S. Vandeventer, 50th Va. 
Col. W. W. Ward, Tennessee. 
Col. WilHam M. Barbour, N. C. 
*For some reason. Colonel Carter did not go. 



40 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Col. John N. Brown, S. C. 
Col. J. A. Jaquess, C. S. A. 
Col. B. E. Caudill, Kentucky. 
Col. W. H. Forney, Alabama. 
Lieut. -Col. James F. Brewer, Tennessee. 
Lieut.-Col. F. H. Daugherty, Tennessee. 
Lieut. -Col. P. E. Devant, Georgia. 
Lieut.-Col. J. P. Fitzgerald, 23d Va. 
Lieut.-Col. C. L. Haynes, 27th Va. 
Lieut.-Col. O. A. Patton, Kentucky. 
Lieut.-Col. William M. Parsley, N. C. 
Lieut.-Col. A. L. Swingley, Tennessee. 
Lieut.-Col. Joseph Tucker, Tennessee. 
Lieut.-Col. D. H. L. Martz, 10th Va. 
Lieut.-Col. A. Dupree, C. S. A. 
Lieut.-Col. Thomas C. Jackson, C. S. A. 
Lieut.-Col. M. J. Smith, C. S. A. 
Maj. D. W. Anderson, 44th Va. 
Lieut.-Col. J. W. Caldwell, Kentucky. 
Lieut.-Col. J. T. Carson, Georgia. 
Lieut.-Col. W. T. Ennett, N, C. 
Lieut.-Col. J. E. Groce, Mississippi. 
Lieut.-Col. H. A. Highley, C. S. A. 
Lieut.-Col. E. M. Henry, C. S. A. 
Lieut.-Col. E. A. Nash, Georgia. 
Lieut.-Col. L. J. Perkins, 50th Va. 
Lieut.-Col. George H. Smith, Tennessee. 
Lieut.-Col. E. J. Sanders, Mississippi. 
Lieut.-Col. T. Steele, Kentucky. 



41 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Lieut.-Col. Thomas B. Webber, Kentucky. 
Lieut.-Col. J. M. Wilson, Louisiana. 
Lieut.-Col. W. H. Manning, Louisiana. 
Lieut.-Col. T. E. Upshaw, 13th Va. 
Lieut.-Col. F. F. Warley, S. C. 
Lieut.-Col. W. L. Davidson, N. C. 

These officers left Fort Delaware in June, 
1864, in charge of Major Strong, U. S. 
A., and in due course were delivered to 
Major-General Foster, commanding Uni- 
ted States forces at Hilton Head, S. C. 
After the arrival of these prisoners cor- 
respondence took place between Maj.- 
Gen. J. G. Foster, U. S. A., and Gen. 
Sam Jones, C. S. A., commanding Con- 
federate forces, Charleston, S. C, which 
will be found in Vol. XXXV, War Rec- 
ords. 

It was General Foster's intention to 
place these Confederate officers — prison- 
ers of war — under fire on Morris Island. 
But he found, upon investigation and 
from correspondence, that his hasty action 
upon General Jones's letter had gotten 
him a very large elephant on his hands, 



42 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

which he coiild not control; and he also 
had the testimony in letters from the 
Union prisoners of war confined in 
Charleston City, that they were not under 
fire at all, and all Foster had to bolster 
up his infamous scheme and slander was 
the testimony of the runaway niggers and 
Confederate deserters. Here is the letter 
of protest against Foster's action: 

Chadeston, S. C, July 1, 1864. 

Maj.-gen. J. G. Foster, 

Commanding Department South, 
Hilton Head, S. C. 

General : 

The journals of this morning inform 
us, for the first time, that five general officers 
of the Confederate service have arrived at 
Hilton Head, with a view to their being sub- 
jected to the same treatment that we are re- 
ceiving here. We think it just to ask for 
these officers every kindness and courtesy that 
you can extend to them in acknowledgement 
of the fact that we, at this time, are as pleas- 
antly and comfortably situated as is possible 
for prisoners of war, receiving from the Con- 
federate authorities every privilege that we 



43 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

could desire or expect, nor are we unnecessarily 
exposed to fire. 

Respectfully, General, your obedient servants, 
H. W. Wessells, 
T. Seymour, 

E. P. SCAMMON, 

C. A. Heckman, 
Alexander Shaler, 
Brig.-Gens. U. S. Vols. 
Prisoners of War. 

(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 163.) 

Charleston, S. C, July 1, 1864. 

Brig.-Gen. L. Thomas, 

Adjt.-Gen. U. S. A., Washington, D. C. 

(Through Maj.-Gen. J. G. Foster, com- 
manding Department of the South, Hil- 
ton Head, S. C.) 

General: 

We desire respectfully to represent through 
you to our authorities our firm belief that a prompt 
exchange of prisoners of war in the hands of the 
Southern Confederacy (if exchanges are to be made) 
is called for by every consideration of humanity. 
There are many thousands confined at southern 
points of the Confederacy in a climate to which 
they are unaccustomed, deprived of much of the 
food, clothing, and shelter they have habitually 



44 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

received, and it is not surprising that from these 
and other causes, that need not be enumerated 
here, much suffering, sickness, and death should 
ensue. In this matter the statements of our own 
officers are confirmed by the Southern journals. 
And while we cheerfully submit to any policy that 
may be decided upon by our government, we would 
urge that the great evils that must result from any 
delay that is not desired should be obviated by the 
designation of some point in this vicinity at which 
exchange might be made, a course, we are induced 
to beheve, that would be acceded to by the Con- 
federate authorities. 

And we are. General, very respectfully your 
obedient servants, 

H. W. Wessells, 

T. Seymour, 

E. P. SCAMMON, 

C. A. Heckman, 
Alexander Shaler, 
Brig.-Gens. U. S. Vols., 
Prisoners of War. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 162.) 



45 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Headquarters Department of South Caro- 
lina, Georgia, and Florida. 

Charleston, S. C, July 1, 1864. 
Maj.-Gen. J. G. Foster, 

Commanding Department of South, 
Hilton Head. 
General : 

I send with this a letter addressed by five 
general officers of the United States Army, now 
prisoners of war in this city, to Brig.-Gen. L. 
Thomas, Adjutant-General United States Army, re- 
commending and asking an exchange of prisoners 
of war. I fully concur in opinion with the officers 
who have signed the letter that there should be 
an exchange of prisoners of war and, although I 
am not instructed by my government to enter into 
negotiations for that purpose, I have no doubt it 
is willing and desirous now, as it has ever been, to 
exchange prisoners of war with your government 
on just and honorable plans. Our difficulty in 
the way of carrying out the cartel of exchange 
agreed upon between the two governments would 
not exist, that I am aware of, if the exchange was 
conducted between you and myself. If, there- 
fore, you think proper to communicate on the 
subject with your government I will, without de- 
lay, communicate with mine, and it may be that 
we can enter into an agreement, subject to approv- 
al of our respective governments, by which the 



46 




CAPTAIN HOPE K. HARRISON 
GEORGIA 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

prisoners of war now languishing in confinement 
may be released. I should be glad to aid in so 
humane work, and, to the end that there may be 
no unnecessary delay on my part, I have directed 
an officer of my staff, Maj. John F. Lay, Assistant 
Adjutant and Inspector-General, charged with the 
delivery of this, to wait a reasonable time in vi- 
cinity of Port Royal Ferry for your answer. He 
is fully informed of my views on this subject, and, 
if you desire it, will confer with you or any officer 
you may designate. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
Sam Jones, 
Maj. -Gen. Commanding. 

(War Records, Vol. xxxv, pp. 161-162.) 



Headquarters Department of the South, 

July 4, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. Samuel Jones, 

Commanding Confederate Forces, South Caro- 
lina, Georgia and Florida, 
Charleston, S. C. 

I have received your letter of the 1st inst. 
covering a letter from the five general officers of 
the United States Army now prisoners of war in 
Charleston to Brig.-Gen. L. Thomas, Adjutant- 
General United States Army. 



47 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

I fully reciprocate your desire for an exchange 
of prisoners of war, but before any steps can be 
taken to effect it, it will be necessary for you to 
withdraw from exposure to our fire these officers 
now confined in Charleston. I have not yet placed 
your prisoners in a similar position of exposure. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 

J. G. Foster, 
Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 164.) 



Headquarters Department of the South, 
July 4, 1864. 

Brig.-Gens. T. Seymour, H. W. Wessells, C. A. 
Heckman, E. p. Scammon, and Alexander 
Shaler. 

My Dear Friends: 

I have received your letter of 1st inst. and will 
observe your wishes in the treatment of the pris- 
oners now placed in my hands. We all regret very 
much the circumstances of your being placed under 
our fire in Charleston, and every one feels justly 
indignant at this barbarous treatment of prisoners 
of war. I will endeavor to have your wants sup- 
plied so far as possible, and have requested the 
Sanitary Commission to forward what articles they 
have on hand suited to your necessities. I believe 



48 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

your exchange might be effected rank for rank pro- 
vided, as a first step, General Jones should relieve 
you from your position of exposure to fire. 
Very respectfully and truly yours, 

J. G. Foster, 
Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 164.) 

Headquarters Department South Carolina, 
Georgia and Florida. 

Charleston, S. C, July 13, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. J. G. Foster, 

Commanding United States Forces, 
Hilton Head, S. C. 

General : 

Your letter of 4th date in reply to mine of 1st 
inst. has been received. I am pleased to know 
that you reciprocate my desire for an exchange of 
prisoners, but regret that you should require as a 
condition precedent to any negotiations for this 
end that I should remove from their present lo- 
cation the United States prisoners of war now in 
this city. Such a course on my part would be 
implied admission that those officers are unduly 
exposed and treated with unnecessary rigor, which 
they themselves assure you in their letter of 1st 
inst. is not the case. I regard the exchange of 
prisoners as demanded alike by rules of civilized 



49 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

warfare and the dictates of common humanity; 
and to require a change of location which you have 
every reason to know the prisoners do not them- 
selves desire is to throw an unnecessary obstacle 
in the way of accomplishing this end, and thus re- 
tain prisoners of war in irksome confinement. The 
change I most prefer would be to send them to 
your headquarters and this may be done, unless 
defeated by obstacles interposed by yourself or 
your government. 

I was notified of your request to send a staff 
officer to meet one of yours at Port Royal at 2 p. m. 
to-day, too late to comply therewith. I have, how- 
ever, directed the officer of your staff to be in- 
formed that I would send an officer to meet him at 
4 p. m. to-morrow and have accordingly directed 
Maj. J. F. Lay, Assistant Adjutant and Inspector- 
General, to take charge of this letter and deliver 
it at Port Royal Ferry. 

I repeat that he is fully advised of my views, 
and, should you desire it, will confer with you or 
any officer of your staff whom you may designate. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
Sam Jones, Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, pp. 174-175.) 



50 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

All this correspondence was for- 
warded by General Foster to Washing- 
ton, and receipt thereof acknowledged by 
General Halleck. 

Headquarters Department South Carolina, 
Georgia, and Florida. 

Charleston, S. C. 
July 13, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. J. G. Foster, 

Commanding United States Forces, 
Hilton Head, S. C. 

General: 

I have received your letter of the 1st inst. 
Mine of the 13th and 22d ult. indicate, with all 
necessary precision, the location of the United 
States officers who are prisoners of war in this 
city. I cannot well be more minute without point- 
ing out the very houses in which they are confined, 
and for reasons very easily understood I am sure 
that this will not be expected. If statements in 
my letter of the 22d ult. are insufficient the letter 
of the five general officers, dated 1st inst., in which 
they assure you they "are as pleasantly and com- 
fortably situated as is possible for prisoners of war, 
receiving from the Confederate authorities every 
privilege that we (they) could desire or expect, 
nor are we (they) unnecessarily exposed to fire" 



51 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

gives you all the information in regard to their 
treatment that you can reasonably desire. In con- 
clusion let me add that I presume from copy of 
your confidential order of 29 th ult that you were 
commanding in person the troops operating against 
the city, and, as you had particularly requested 
me to communicate with you only by way of Port 
Royal Ferry, I felt bound to delay my reply until 
I was assured it would promptly reach you by 
route you were pleased to indicate. 

Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
Sam Jones, 
Ma j. -Gen. Commanding. 

After this correspondence came the 
following letter, an exchange was made 
of these officers, and they were not placed 
under fire. 

Headquarters Department South, 

Hilton Head, S. C, July 29, 1864. 
Maj.-Gen. Sam Jones, 

Commanding Confederate Forces, 

South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. 

General : 

I have the honor to inform you that the 
Secretary of War has authorized me to ex- 
change any prisoners of war in my hands 



52 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

rank for rank or their equivalent, such ex- 
change being a special one. In accordance with 
the above I send Major Anderson to make 
arrangements as to time and place for ex- 
change. 

I have the honor to be very respectfully your 
obedient servant, 

J. G. Foster, 

Major- General. 

General Foster sent the following 
note to the Union generals — prisoners 
of war — in Charleston City : 

Headquarters Department South, 
Hilton Head, S. C., July 29, 1864. 
General Wessels, etc., etc. 

My Dear General: — I have just received 
authority to exchange the prisoners in my 
hands rank for rank or their equivalent, ac- 
cording to cartel. I send aide-de-camp to 
make arrangements for exchange. 
Yours truly, 

J. G. Foster. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv. Part 2, p. 199.) 

On August 4, 1864, subsequent to the 
exchange of the general and field officers, 
General Foster wrote to General Halleck, 
chief of staff, U. S. A., Washington, 



53 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

D. C, that he (Foster) had obtained in- 
formation from Rebel deserters and run- 
away niggers, and escaped Union prison- 
ers of war, that the Confederate authori- 
ties were anxious for exchange of prison- 
ers of war, and that he (General Foster) 
could manage the matter and arrange to 
have the exchange take place in Charles- 
ton Harbor. He also tells Halleck, in 
this letter, that there are six hundred 
Union officers — prisoners of war — 
brought from Macon, Ga., to Charleston 
to induce the United States authorities to 
make exchange of prisoners of war; but 
he (Foster) will notify Gen. Sam Jones 
at Charleston, that no more exchange of 
prisoners will be made in Charleston Har- 
bor. Both Gen. J. G. Foster and Secre- 
tary of War Stanton knew that Federal 
prisoners of war were dying at the rate of 
seventy per day because the Confederate 
authorities cannot furnish them proper 
medicine. Yet the United States Govern- 
ment will not exchange nor relieve their 
own prisoners. Here is proof positive — 



54 




MAJOR LAMAR FONTAINE 
MISSISSIPPI 
(Surveyor and Engineer) 



i 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

official admission — by the highest offi- 
cials of the United States that they will 
not exchange prisoners of war, although 
the Confederate Government is willing to 
make exchange, or give up all the sick 
and wounded Federal prisoners in their 
hands if the United States will send 
transports and take them away. 

General Grant said it was much 
cheaper to feed Rebel prisoners than fight 
them, and the Washington authorities 
acted upon the suggestion and broke off 
the exchange of prisoners of war. Mr. 
Stanton believed it was cheaper to starve 
Rebel prisoners of war than put guns in 
their hands. There was nothing in the 
way to prevent the exchange of prisoners 
of war except the inhumanity of Edwin 
M. Stanton, Federal Secretary of War. 
He did not care for the Union prisoners 
of war. He hated the Confederate pris- 
oners with a deadly hate. (See War Rec- 
ords, Vol. xxxv, p. 213.) 

After this correspondence came the 
call, by Gen. J. G. Foster, for six hundred 



55 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Confederate officers — prisoners of war — 
to be tortured on Morris Island, S. C, un- 
der fire of their own guns, and be starved 
upon rotten com meal and pickle at Hil- 
ton Head, S. C, and at Fort Pulaski, 
Ga., by order of the United States Gov- 
ernment. It cannot be proven that 
the Confederate authorities at any time 
placed Federal prisoners of war under 
fire or treated them inhumanely; not can 
General Foster's friends nor Edwin M. 
Stanton's friends give the least excuse for 
the brutality of those men. Why the ex- 
change of prisoners was stopped is given 
in plain terms over Gen. U. S. Grant's 
signature: 

City Point, Va., August 27, 1864, 5 p. m. 
Secretary of War, 

Washington : 

Please inform Maj.-Gen. J. G. Foster 
that in no circumstances will he be allowed to 
make exchange of prisoners of war. Ex- 
changes simply re-enforce the enemy at once, 
whilst we do not get the benefit of those re- 
ceived for two or three months and lose the 
majority entirely. I telegraph this from just 



56 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

hearing 500 or 600 more prisoners had been 
sent to Major-General Foster. 

U. S. Grant, 
Lieutenant-General. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 254.) 

Comment upon this dispatch is unneces- 
sary. General Grant preferred to feed 
Rebels to fighting them, even if his own 
men must suffer in Confederate prisons 
where there was not food to give them. 
Gen. J. G. Foster, on June 27, 1864, 
wrote this letter to General Halleck, 
which shows he had no proofs that Union 
prisoners of war were under fire in 
Charleston City: 

Headquarters Department of the South, 
Hilton Head, S. C, June 27, 1864. 

Maj.-Gen. H. W. Halleck, 

Chief of Staff, Armies United States, 
Washington, D. C. 

General : 

I have received your letter of the 21st and will 
endeavor to carry out your instructions and those 
of the Secretary of War to the very letter. I shall 
first endeavor to ascertain from Gen. Samuel Jones 
the degree of exposure, the kind and amount of 



57 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

rations, the general comforts, as beds, blankets, 
etc., etc., which are given to our prisoners, and then 
give the same to the Rebel prisoners. Every pre- 
caution will be taken to prevent escape or recapture. 
I have the honor to be very respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 

J. G. Foster, 
Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 150.) 

On July 21st General Foster received 
reply from his own prisoners in Charles- 
ton, telling exactly how kind they were 
treated. 

(See General Scammon, et al, letter.) i 



58 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



CHAPTER TWO 

Fort Delaware. Rumors of Exchange. Order to get 
ready for exchange. Saying good-bye. Packing 
us on steamship ''Crescent City.'' 

FORT DELAWARE is built upon 
Pea Patch Island, in the Dela- 
ware River, midway of the 
stream between the New Jersey and Dela- 
ware shores. The structure is of brick, 
strong and durable. In the years 1861-65 
the United States Government utilized this 
Fort and Island as a military prison for 
the confinement of its prisoners of war. 
On the grounds of the island were built 
large wooden barracks separated into 
compartments, one of which was occupied 
by the Confederate officers — prisoners 
of war — the other by the enlisted men 
of the Confederacy who were held as 
prisoners. In the officers' side of this huge 
barracks, in the month of August, 1864, 
there were confined about 1,500 Confed- 
erate officers, captured in different battles 



59 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

in the South. This prison was fairly well 
conducted as to quarters, but most mis- 
erably as to rations. There were two 
large mess halls in which the prisoners 
were fed twice each day. The ration for 
breakfast was a chunk of bread cut wedge 
shape, a small portion of molasses as 
black as it was bitter, with a tin cup of 
very black coffee without sugar. The 
dinner menu card was a tin of soup (so 
called), a small piece of fat meat or beef 
with slice of bread. For supper, wind. 
General Schoepf, U. S. V., commandant 
of the post, was a German, in his way a 
very good sort of an old fellow who, no 
doubt, did all he dare do, if report is cor- 
rect, to alleviate the condition of Confer- 
erate prisoners of war. But he had about 
him some very mean, low men and prison 
officials. It was the general report 
amongst the prisoners of war that Gen- 
eral Schoepf's wife was a Virginia lady 
who was in sympathy with her State and 
people. For this reason the General was 
not given a command in the field, but as- 



60 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

signed to command of Fort Delaware 
prison that he might be kept under sur- 
veillance from Washington City. Report 
also said Capt. A. A. Ahl, his A. A. Gen- 
eral, was forced upon him as a spy, and 
was not at all agreeable to the General. 
Ahl was the monitor placed over him by 
Secretary of War Stanton. If this re- 
port be true or false I do not know; but 
this I do know, that Captain Ahl did 
most intensely hate Confederate prison- 
ers of war, and it is susceptible of proof 
that all the drastic orders issued for the 
government of Fort Delaware military 
prison were the conceptions and work of 
this fellow Ahl, and their enforcement 
compelled by his diction and domination 
over General Schoepf. While Fort Del- 
aware prison was a hell upon earth for 
both officers and men, — Confederate pris- 
oners of war — it is said by prisoners of 
war confined in other Northern prisons to 
be the best of the lot. This fact cannot 
be denied: where large numbers of men 
are confined and huddled together in a 



61 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

small space, deprived of liberty of roam- 
ing about, poorly fed, and unprotected 
from the elements, there must be neces- 
sarily much suffering and always much 
complaint, even if those in authority and 
control are disposed to be humane in their 
treatment of those in their custody. 

The assistant provost-marshal in 
charge of the officers' prison at Fort Del- 
aware was a Dutchman, Lieutenant 
Woolf, a graduate from the slums of 
Philadelphia City, a coarse, brutal crea- 
ture, with all the mean, cowardly, and 
cruel instincts of the beast from which 
his name was taken; a fellow without 
culture, refinement, or gentility, who took 
much delight in insulting the Confeder- 
ate officers that the misfortunes of war 
had made prisoners. It might be charity 
to place this fellow's meanness to the 
credit of his profound ignorance and 
slimi breeding. His assistants were as 
miserable fellows as himself. Aided by 
these assistants and some miserable 
scoundrels — Confederate soldiers who de- 



62 




(Planter) 



LIEUTENANT C. C. GRACE 
GEORGIA 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

serted and took the oath of allegiance 
to the United States Government — this 
fellow Woolf made the prison of the Con- 
federate enlisted men a veritable torture- 
house. After taps were sounded I would 
often, with the aid of Lieut. Bob Bowie 
and Capt. Tom Roche, my bunk-mates, 
steal into the enlisted men's camp next to 
ours, separated by a high board fence, and 
hear from the men the story of the atro- 
cious treatment this fellow Woolf, Hack- 
out, and the other scoundrels would in- 
flict upon the helpless sick and poor Con- 
federate prisoners of war, who could not 
make complaint, for the reason their com- 
plaints never got further than Captain 
Ahl, who never brought the matter to 
General Schoepf's attention. 

Through that incomprehensible means 
that cannot be defined nor explained, 
and is only known to prisoners of 
war, we, confined in the officers' camp 
of the prison, became possessed of the 
knowledge that there was to be an ex- 
change of prisoners of war. We seldom 



63 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

saw a paper; they were not allowed us. 
If a letter was written a prisoner that con- 
tained the least particle of information 
about the outside world save that which 
pertained strictly to family affairs it never 
reached the prisoner to whom it was writ- 
ten. Yet news would get into our camp, 
and we called such news "grape." One 
day in August, 1864, news spread over 
the camp that the fifty general and field 
officers that had been sent in June to 
Charleston Harbor, S. C, had been ex- 
changed, and that a general exchange of 
prisoners of war, which had been stopped, 
would now be resumed, and very soon 
we would all be back in Dixie. The 
Yankee sergeant who called the prison 
roll confirmed this ''grape," but gave no 
time as to when the exchange would be- 
gin or where it would take place. After 
this confirmation by the Yankee sergeant 
the only topic of conversation amongst 
the prisoners was exchange. The man 
who did not beHeve this "grape" of ex- 
change was looked upon by his fellow- 



64 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

prisoners as a man to be watched — a 
skeptic beyond reformation. After days 
of exchange talk, and the impossibility to 
clinch or give body to the rumor, interest 
died and we all resumed the quiet of our 
prison life. But a day or two of rest and 
there came another "grape". A sergeant 
of the guard told one of our officers that 
a new cartel of exchange had been 
agreed upon and would surely take place 
just as soon as the status of nigger troops 
could be arranged. A few days after this 
another ''grape" was received, which 
said the question of exchanging nigger 
troops was laid aside by both the Con- 
federate and Federal governments, and 
now exchange was sure. All this was 
taken as gospel truth by the prisoners in 
our camp, but it all proved to be moon- 
shine. But to revive all the "grape" of 
the past and add new fuel to the exchange 
fire excitement, on the 17th day of Au- 
gust, 1864, the Irish sergeant. Murphy, 
who called the prison roll, informed us 
before we broke ranks, after roll call, that 



65 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

there would be an exchange of prisoners 
in a few days. The rolls were being made 
out and in a few days the first batch would 
be sent South. To disbelieve this was the 
rankest treason; so we all accepted the 
story, yet we looked upon it as ''grape." 
But about 3 o'clock p. m., of August 17th, 
confirmation of the story came, when an 
officer from the fort and Sergeant Mur- 
phy came into the pen and ordered the 
prisoners to fall into line and answer to 
their names, as they would be called, for 
exchange. 

We soon fell into Hne, the roll call 
began and went on, while the prisoners 
stood in death-like silence awaiting the 
call of their names, each man showing on 
his face the hope of his heart; each asking 
God, in silent, earnest prayer, that his 
name would be called. I have looked into 
the faces of men in line before a battle, 
when defeat seemed inevitable; I have 
seen the joy of victory take the place of 
doubt; but never in all my life did I wit- 
ness joy so perfect as in the face of the 



66 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

man whose name was called, nor woe so 
abject as on the face of the men whose 
names were passed over. My agitation 
and suspense was just as great as that of 
my comrades, and I did silently, away 
down in the depths of my heart, beg God 
for deliverance from Fort Delaware 
prison. When the M's were called on the 
roll I could hardly contain myself; when 
my name was called I could have shouted 
for joy; and I really felt sorry that all my 
comrades were not included in the list, as 
we thought, for exchange. And yet the 
sequel proved that those whose names 
were upon the list were the unfortunates, 
and not those whose names had been 
passed over. Not dreaming of the ter- 
rible fate in store for us and the terrible 
ordeal we would be subjected to, we laid 
down that night upon our hard board 
bunks and dreamed sweet dreams of home 
and the welcome awaiting us from loved 
ones and comrades in Dixie. 

Early on the morning of August 
18th the whole camp was up and astir, 



67 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

impatient for the word to move. We 
were going home to Dixie, and I do be- 
lieve each man had in his heart a resolve 
that he would never forget Fort Delaware 
and its cruelty. We, whose names had 
been called for exchange, were in a state 
of anxiety all day, awaiting the order to 
forward. The sun went down and our 
hope went with it. No order to move 
had come; we were still prisoners of war 
in terrible Fort Delaware prison. Specu- 
lation was rife. "Grape" after ''grape," 
story after story came to us, running riot 
with our disappointment. Each story was 
given credence until finally, in the chaos, 
we came to the conclusion that exchange 
was but a dream, and the Yankees had 
perpetrated a cruel joke upon us and no 
exchange was to be made. Despair drove 
hope from our hearts and sleep from our 
eyes, and suspense held us in her ruthless 
grasp until the morning of August 20th, 
when the sergeant who called the prison 
roll came in to perform his duty and an- 
nounced the order that the men whose 



68 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

names had been called for exchange 
should pack up their belongings and be 
ready to leave the prison pen on a mo- 
ment's notice. This brought back hope 
and drove from our hearts despair; yet 
doubt still held on, and the high board 
fence about the prison pen shut us in 
from liberty and the world without. At 
3 o'clock p. m., August 20th, the order 
came ''Fall into line all you men whose 
names shall be called and be ready for 
exchange." The roll-call was made, five 
hundred and fifty sound, healthy men, 
and fifty woimded men fell into line and 
marched by fours out through the prison 
gate — not for exchange, as we fondly 
hoped, but to torture as brutal and wan- 
ton, as cowardly as was ever inflicted upon 
helpless prisoners of war by the most bar- 
barous nations of savage man. While 
we stood in line in the prison yard await- 
ing the order to move there were some 
most pathetic as well as ridiculous scenes 
enacted between comrades who had stood 
in line of battle together, were captured 



69 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

together, and now one was going home, 
the other to remain a captive. We were 
saying good-bye, telUng those we left be- 
hind to be of good heart, that it would be 
but a few days before they would join us 
in Dixie. We of that six hundred can 
now look back and laugh at the promises 
then made, some of them of the most im- 
possible character. I recall one promise 
made in which we were all in accord. 
That was, just as soon as we put foot in 
Richmond we were all to go in a body to 
President Davis and Congress and de- 
mand that our comrades in Fort Delaware 
should be sent for at once. The fact that 
it would require the consent of the 
United States Government to carry out 
this promise never entered our head. 
Some of the partings between mess-mates 
and friends, on that August day in the 
long ago, come back to me most vividly as 
I write. There were men who had stood 
together in the line of death, comrades in 
the army, companions in prison, but now 
to be separated, perchance forever. I re- 



70 




CAPTAIN JO. H. HASTINGS 
TENNESSEE 



(Farmer) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

member now Capt. George W. Kiirtz, 
Company K, 5th Va. Inf., Stonewall Bri- 
gade, one of the best and bravest men of 
that famous old command, coming down 
the line. As he reached me he said, "Og- 
den," and the great big tears began to run 
down his cheeks, ''when you get back to 
the Valley I want you to get Harry Gil- 
more and a lot of the old brigade; get all 
you can, go down the Valley, capture 
Sheridan and hold him until you get me 
out of this place. If I stay here I will 
surely die." Of course I promised to 
comply with his request, and we sealed 
the compact with a kiss. It strikes me 
now that Lieutenants Bob Bowie and Pete 
Akers both promised to join me in the 
matter. Poor Bowie has passed over the 
river; Kurts and Akers are left with my- 
self. During this scene my eyes were not 
dry nor was my heart joyous in leaving 
behind me in prison grand old comrades 
I had learned to love. Poor dear old Pete 
Akers said to one of his Lynchburg com- 
rades, "You just wait until I get home. 



71 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Blamed if I don't go out and catch old 
Grant and half of his army and hold them 
until you all get out of this place." Poor 
dear old Pete, his great heart was always 
in touch with those in trouble. The Mor- 
gan men, the Forrest men, and Wheeler 
men all made their comrades most ex- 
travagant promises. But our dreams of 
exchange were never to be realized. It 
was the hope hidden by anticipation that 
was to make our disappointment acute. 
Finally the Yankee officer in charge gave 
the order to march. We passed out 
through the prison gate to begin a siege 
of torture. We marched down to the fort 
wharf and were packed on board of the 
small gulf steamship "Crescent City" 
like cattle are packed in railroad cars. The 
hold of the ship was fitted up with rough 
pine bunks to hold eight men — four be- 
low, four above, — there was very little 
ventilation, and in this cramped apartment 
six hundred human beings — prisoners of 
war — were shipped to Gen. J. G. Foster, 
U. S. A., Hilton Head, S. C, to be in- 



72 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

humanly and brutally treated. Our con- 
dition one can imagine; it cannot be de- 
scribed. Six hundred prisoners of war, 
three hundred guards, the boat's crew — 
all on board of a small gulf steamer built 
to accommodate not more than half our 
number. After the last prisoner was 
packed below decks the steamer pulled out 
into the channel of the Delaware River 
on the Jersey side. Here we laid until 
midnight tide, when we steamed away 
for Fortress Monroe, fully convinced that 
we were to be exchanged, landed in Dixie 
to meet our loved ones and comrades. 
Believing this, we suffered the discom- 
forts of the prison-ship without miumur. 
The hold — or hole — of the "Crescent 
City," in which we were packed, was be- 
low the ship's water hne, imperfectly ven- 
tilated, poorly lighted, and vile in odor 
of tar and grease. Our guard, — 110th 
Home Guards of Ohio, hundred-day men 
who had never seen any field service, — 
were perfectly devoid of feeling, espe- 
cially so for Confederate soldiers, and 



73 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

made our condition much worse than 
those English soldiers in the Black Hole 
of Calcutta. The guards were quartered 
upon the upper deck of the ship; one sen- 
tinel was stationed on deck at the hatch- 
way and one below at foot of the ladder 
leading on deck, and under no circum- 
stances would these sentinels allow more 
than two or three prisoners on deck at 
one time to catch a breath of fresh air. 
After a run of one day our ship came 
to anchor under the guns of Fortress 
Monroe and the ships of the fleet guard- 
ing that point. Here we laid at anchor 
some fifteen or more hours, suffering all 
the tortures of heat and seasickness; no 
rations, and the worst drinking water pos- 
sible given us. and the stench from the 
hole we were confined in became almost 
stifling. Our men had been made sea- 
sick by motion of the boat, which made 
our quarters filthy. Beg as we might, we 
were not allowed to go on deck. After 
the long wait Captain Webster, who had 
charge of the guard and prisoners, came 



74 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

on board and informed us that the point 
of exchange, owing to the movements of 
Grant's and Lee's armies, had been 
changed from City Point, Va., to Charles- 
ton Harbor, S. C. Disappointment was 
visible on all faces. Here we were, in 
sight of the promised land, but not al- 
lowed to enter. Indigo was a bright color 
contrasted with our feelings and looks, 
yet we consoled ourselves with the hope 
and the fact that the delay would be but 
for a day or two longer, when we would 
be at home. Then, in our joy, we would 
forget the vile treatment given us on the 
Yankee prison-ship. All the men of our 
party save two or three had been made 
seasick on the run down from Fort Dela- 
ware, which, as I said before, made our 
close quarters below decks a veritable cess- 
pool. We appealed to Captain Webster, 
in charge of the guard, but he gave no 
heed to our protest, and we were com- 
pelled to stand it as best we could. On 
the evening of August 22d the ship pulled 
up anchor and steamed out of Fortress 



75 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Monroe Harbor, bound for Charleston 
Harbor, S. C, under escort of two United 
States gunboats. This looked strange, 
yet little attention was paid to it by our 
men. In fact, in rounding Cape Henry, 
all our men were seasick, and we did not 
take much heed if there was one or a hun- 
dred gunboats guarding us. The heat 
of the ship's boilers, the heat of the 
weather, and the seasickness made our 
condition a veritable orthodox hell, a reg- 
ular sheol in miniature form. Notwith- 
standing all this torture, our men suffered 
in silence, and there was no complain- 
ing. We believed we were going back 
home, and we would not let the Yankees 
see that we suffered. 

Late in the night I had pushed my 
way through the darkness to the step- 
ladder that led up to the deck above, 
awaiting my turn to go on deck. In the 
dark some one spoke to me, and I rec- 
ognized the voice of Col. Abe Fulker- 
son, 63d Tenn. Inf. I said, '^ Colonel, we 
have fallen into hard lines, but it will 



76 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

soon be over." ''Yes," he said, ''Mur- 
ray, it will be over when they kill us, not 
before." Stepping back out of hearing 
of the sentinel, the Colonel said, "Mur- 
ray, do you honestly believe we are to be 
exchanged?" "Why, most assuredly," I 
replied. "Why not? And when we get 
back to the army we will not forget this 
inhuman treatment." "Well, that's all 
right; but, Murray," said Fulkerson, 
"when you and I get back to Dixie the 
war will be done. If the Yankees intend- 
ed to exchange us they would have 
paroled us at Fort Delaware and not sent 
this heavy guard with us. And now we 
have an additional guard in the gun- 
boats. I tell you," he continued, "there 
is trouble ahead for us. Of what char- 
acter I cannot say, but bear in mind what 
I say to you; there will be no exchange 
of this six hundred men. I feel certain 
of what I say. Now, again," he said, 
"why are those two officers who took the 
oath at Fort Delaware on this boat? 
Why is it they are entertained in the 



77 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

cabin by the Yankee officers while we are 
kept below in this miserable hole? I tell 
you those fellows are birds of ill omen. 
These galvanized rascals mean trouble for 
some one.'* 

This conversation with Fulkerson 
certainly put a damper on my hope, and 
the more I thought of the conversation the 
more depressed I became, until hope 
had almost fled. When we separated it 
was coming daylight. The ship was roll- 
ing badly and there seemed to be much 
commotion on the upper deck. The 
guard at the hatchway was doubled and 
no one was allowed to go on deck. The 
engines had stopped working. By some 
means I got on deck, though how I got 
there I never could tell, and tried to as- 
certain the cause of the commotion. I 
heard one of the ship's officers say, "We 
are aground, sir, off Folly Island. Where 
should have been the Cape Romaine 
Light, we are stuck fast in the sand;" 
which later proved to be true. The night 
was very dark. The route was new to the 



78 




(Farmer) 



LIEUTENANT WILLIAM EPPS 
SOUTH CAROLINA 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

"Crescent's" officers, and they had run 
too close into shore and had run the ship 
aground and lost our escorts, the gun- 
boats. 

This accidental grounding of the 
ship sent my spirits away up, and the 
thought came to me, ''Now we can cer- 
tainly get back to Dixie without the for- 
mality of exchange." While I was think- 
ing all this over, Col. Van Manning, 3d 
Ark. Inf., came on deck. I hastily told 
him the situation. He at once said, 
"Murray, we must take this ship." He 
went below, a hasty council was held with 
the prisoners, and it was determined that 
we should take the ship. It was arranged 
that Colonels Manning, DeGtimey, Abe 
Fulkerson, and Maj. W. W. Goldsbor- 
ough should make the demand for the 
surrender of the ship. If it was declined, 
those below were to rush the guard at 
foot of the ladder, get on deck, capture 
the guard, and go ashore on Folly Island. 
It was a desperate undertaking. It would 
have been certain death for some of us 



79 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

before we could have captured the guard; 
yet there was no thought of the conse- 
quences of failure, no hesitation as to 
who should lead. By consent, CoL Van 
Manning was the leader, and with him 
we were all ready to chance the fire 
of a thousand guns. Colonels Manning, 
Fulkerson, DeGumey, and Major Golds- 
borough went upon deck and demanded 
that Captain Webster, commanding the 
guard, should surrender the ship into our 
hands at once, otherwise we would take 
it. Our men below were all ready to obey 
the order to rush the guard. Hardly had 
Colonel Manning made the demand for 
the surrender of the ship when, to the 
surprise of all the committee, Captain 
Webster agreed to the surrender of the 
ship. My recollection is that he and his 
men were not to be put into prison, but 
taken to Charleston City and exchanged 
at once, or paroled and sent home; to 
which condition Colonel Manning agreed. 
We were to land our men on Folly Island, 
with assistance of the ship's Hfeboats, 



80 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

and from there make our way to Charles- 
ton City. While the preliminaries of the 
stirrender were being arranged a signal 
gun was heard out at sea and soon the 
gunboats hove in sight. Under the 
shadow of their frowning guns hope fled 
and black despair settled upon our hearts. 
The moment the gunboats came in sight 
the cowardly attitude of Captain Webster 
changed to that of impudent defiance. He 
forced some of our officers to go down in 
the coal bunkers of the ship and help to 
throw overboard coal to lighten us off the 
sand bar. The guard drove us all below, 
allowing no prisoners on deck until the 
ship was pulled off the bar. There were 
two incidents which took place while our 
ship was aground worth recording. The 
first showed how deeply Webster and his 
guards hated everything Southern. The 
first mate of the "Crescent City" was an 
Irishman who had lived, before the war 
began, in New Orleans. He recognized, 
amongst the prisoners, several friends. 
Whenever the chance presented itself he 



81 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

would give our men tobacco, meat, bread, 
in fact anything he could get from the 
ship's stores. The Yankees saw this and 
reported it to Webster, their commander, 
who had the poor Irishman put in irons, 
transferred to the gunboats for court- 
martial, charging the poor fellow with 
running the ship aground that we might 
escape. I have always believed and do 
still believe that Webster made the charge 
against the first mate of the ''Crescent 
City" for the sole purpose of hiding his 
abject cowardice in agreeing to surrender 
the ship to unarmed men. We never 
learned what became of the mate. The 
other incident was the escape of Colonel 
Woolfolk from the ship. By some means. 
Colonel Woolfolk, a brave, honorable, 
and true Confederate officer, had permis- 
sion to have a stateroom on the ship. 
Aboard the ''Crescent City" was an old 
colored woman who had belonged to the 
Woolfolk family in South Carolina. She 
was the stewardess of the ship. She rec- 
ognized Colonel Woolfolk, her young 



82 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

master, and determined to help him to es- 
cape. She took him into her Hnen room, 
hid him under the bed, and fed him. She 
hung out of the stern window of the ship 
a sheet to make the guard beHeve he had 
dropped by that means into the water and 
gone ashore in the darkness. She kept 
him concealed on board until after the 
ship had landed us on Morris Island. 
When the ship reached New York City 
the old woman smuggled him ashore and 
gave him money. He succeeded in get- 
ting to Canada, from there to England, 
and back to the South on a blockade run- 
ner; and the Yankees never learned how 
he made his escape until he published it 
after the war. 

After some hours of delay, with the 
aid of the gunboats, we got off of the 
sand bar and proceeded on our way to 
Charleston Harbor. The atmosphere be- 
low deck had now become terrible, and 
Webster positively refused to allow the 
ship's crew to put the hose on the pumps 
and wash the filth out of our quarters. 



d>3 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

It was good enough for Rebels, he said. 
When we reached the blockading fleet off 
Charleston no one was allowed on deck 
from below. Again we were in sight of 
the promised land; would we enter? was 
the absorbing question we asked one 
another. The anxiety amongst the pris- 
oners became intense. We all hoped for 
an exchange, yet there was a doubt. 

After being kept a whole day below 
decks a request was made by Colonel 
Manning, of Captain Webster, that from 
fifteen to twenty of the prisoners should 
be allowed to go on deck at one time to 
get some fresh air. In his appeal to 
Webster, Colonel Manning said: "We 
are away out here in the ocean; we are 
surrounded by your gunboats, and no man 
can swim from here ashore; no man can 
escape; it's brutal to keep us down below 
in that pest hole." The only reply 
Webster made to this appeal was "You 
must stay below decks." Colonel Man- 
ning then said, "Captain Webster, if you 
will not allow us on deck have the hose of 



84 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the ship tiimed on and wash the filth out 
of our quarters." To this Webster again 
said no. We could obtain no information 
whatever about exchange from the guard. 
The sink of the ship was, we found out, 
on the upper deck near the wheel, so we 
kept a constant line of men going all the 
time that we might know if the flag of 
truce boats were together in the harbor, 
and when they separated. On the day- 
after and for several days after our ar- 
rival in Charleston Harbor our hearts 
were gladdened by the reports from the 
upper deck that the flag of truce boats 
were together. At night they would sep- 
arate, and we could judge, by the conduct 
of the Yankees towards us, that nothing 
had been accomplished in exchange. On 
the fifth day after our arrival off Charles- 
ton one of the Yankee guards told Lieut. 
Bob Bowie that the exchange of prisoners 
had all been fixed for next day, in Char- 
leston Harbor. We were all elated. To 
confirm this report otu: boat took up 
anchor and we steamed, as we thought, 



85 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

towards Charleston, but at daylight found 
ourselves far out at sea. During the day 
we steamed back to our old anchorage 
under the guns of the blockading fleet. 
.x- No one seemed able to interpret this 
move. Late in the evening our scouts 
from the upper deck reported the flag of 
truce boats together, just off Fort Sumter. 
All night the excitement amongst the 
prisoners ran high. At night our ship 
again took up anchor and steamed out 
to sea, and next morning, when allowed 
to go on deck, we found ourselves in Hil- 
ton Head Harbor. Here we remained 
three days, daily begging Captain 
Webster to turn on the ship's hose and 
wash the filth out of our quarters, which 
he persistently refused to do. In fact, we 
could not get him to do the least thing to 
alleviate our suffering, although he was 
fully cognizant of the filthy condition of 
our prison quarters below decks. After 
our stay of three days at Hilton Head, 
at the mouth of Broad River, our ship 
again pulled anchor and we steamed back 



86 




LIEUTENANT CHARLES F. CRISP 
Speaker United States Congress 



(Dead) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

towards Charleston. In our close, hot 
quarters our suffering was the most in- 
tense. The Yankees knew it, yet they 
would do nothing to relieve us, but 
seemed to enjoy the torture they inflicted 
upon us. We arrived off Morris Island 
on the morning of September 7, 1864, 
and had now been eighteen days on this 
prison ship, suffering the torttires of the 
damned, and not the least effort was made 
by the brute who had charge of us to 
curtail our suffering. About 10 o'clock 
of this morning, September 7th, Captain 
Webster, who had charge of us, coolly 
informed us that it never had been the 
intention of the United States Govern- 
ment to exchange us. That we would be 
placed on Morris Island under the fire 
of our own guns, in retaliation, he said, 
for the Union prisoners under fire, in 
Charleston City, of the guns of Morris 
Island and fleet shelling that city. After 
Webster had vouchsafed us this informa- 
tion, most forcibly came back to me Col- 
onel Fulkerson's prophecy that the war 



87 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

would be over before we ever set foot in 
Dixie. On the afternoon of the 7th day 
of September we were landed on Morris 
Island. The day was hot, but we were 
once more in God's sunshine and out of 
the pest hole of the prison ship. 

Two old dismantled schooner hulks, 
the ''Jno. A. Genet" and the '' Transit," 
were utilized as our prison, and the 54th 
Mass. (nigger) Regt., Col. E. N. Hal- 
lowell commanding, our guard. And 
now in truth began our torture. Every 
man seemed crushed. Not much talldng 
was done by the prisoners, yet we all 
hoped that fate, in a relenting moment, 
would help us and drive away black 
despair. 

After the first night on these old 
hulks, filled as they were with rats and 
vermin, that old courage that made the 
Confederate soldier a hero came back to 
us, and we determined to face the fate 
in store for us without flinching or 
whining. God had made us men; we 
could die like men, if need be, for the 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

cause of right, even if death came to us 
in a Yankee prison. The charge that the 
Confederate Government had six hundred 
Union officers under fire in Charleston 
City was as false as the brain that con- 
ceived the story; as false as the tongue 
that uttered it; and Secretary Stanton and 
Gen. J. G. Foster, U. S. A., knew there 
were no prisoners of war under fire in 
Charleston City. They had the testimony 
of their own officers, who had been pris- 
oners of war in Charleston City, that the 
story was false. Yet the testimony and 
word of these gentlemen was ignored by 
Stanton and Foster, and the word of nig- 
gers and Confederate deserters taken as 
gospel truth. The officers who had been 
prisoners of war in Charleston City: 
Generals H. W. Wessells, Seymour, 
Scammon, et al, over their own signa- 
tures, say they were not under fire, but, 
on the contrary, in no danger; with good 
quarters and plenty to eat, kindly and 
courteously treated. Yet they were not 
listened to as reliable witnesses, but ig- 



89 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

nored because niggers and Confederate 
deserters said there were Union soldiers 
under fire in Charleston. General Wes- 
sells went so far in his letter to General 
Foster as to protest against putting offi- 
cers under fire on Morris Island; yet Gen- 
eral Foster paid no attention to the pro- 
test. 

The life of a prisoner of war is at 
best hard and irksome; and it is extreme- 
ly hard when he is restricted in all things 
necessary to the simplest comfort. He 
must suffer, he does suffer, and suffers 
more than tongue can describe or pen 
portray when his rations are curtailed to 
the point of barely keeping him from 
starvation. Time and time again the 
Confederate authorities protested against 
the inhuman treatment of our men in 
Northern prisons, and begged the Wash- 
ington authorities, in humanity's name, 
to exchange prisoners of war. ''Send 
your transports," said President Davis 
and General Lee, through Exchange 
Commissioner Ould, ''and take your sick 

90 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

and wounded men. We cannot feed 
them; we cannot care for them." But 
Secretary Stanton said "No, we will 
make no exchange; . our men in your 
hands must suffer." The Union prison- 
ers of war in all the Southern prisons 
were fed the same ration that was given 
the Confederate soldier in the field. What 
more could the Confederates do? Gen- 
eral Lee, in an order, said "all wounded 
on the field must be treated alike; all pris- 
oners of war must be treated humanely"; 
and the Confederate Congress passed a 
law to this effect. Mr. Stanton and Gen- 
eral Grant both said "We cannot, we 
will not, exchange prisoners of war. The 
South cannot feed our men; we cannot 
get any benefits from exchange, while the 
men we return to the South only help to 
swell Lee's army. Our men must suffer 
for the good of those who are now con- 
tending with the terrible Lee"; and these 
officials in Washington found it cheaper 
to starve Confederate soldiers in North- 
ern prisons than fight them on the battle- 



91 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

field. The United States had the world 
from which to draw their army and their 
supplies; the Confederacy had but a small 
area, without the slightest chance of 
getting supplies from the outside world 
save when a blockade runner could slip 
through the fleets blockading our ports. 
Neither the men responsible for the wan- 
ton cruelty nor their apologists can give 
a valid reason for the inhuman treatment 
meted out to us on Morris Island, Hilton 
Head, and Fort Pulaski. 

The following two letters, — found 
in Vol. XXXV, War Records,— show be- 
yond question that the United States Gov- 
ernment officials at Washington, with 
Gen. J. G. Foster, made preparation for 
the infliction of their brutality upon us, 
and that Col. E. N. Hallowell, 54th Regt. 
Mass. Vols, (niggers), was chosen as 
commandant of our camp because of his 
brutal nature — just the man to carry out 
the beastly orders Gen. J. G. Foster, U. 
S. A., might issue by authority of Edwin 
M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 



92 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



Headquarters Department of the South, 
Charleston, S. C, August 23, 1864. 

Brig.-Gen. a. Schimmelfennig, 

Commanding Northern District, 
Department South. 

General : 

I am directed by the major-general command- 
ing to state he has ordered Captain Suter, Chief 
Engineer Department of South, to proceed to Mor- 
ris Island for purpose of consulting with you in re- 
gard to the location of the camp for the prisoners 
of war daily expected in this department from the 
North. The major-general commanding desires that 
this camp be placed between Fort Strong and 
Battery Putnam. If this position is considered too 
dangerous you are authorized to locate the camp 
wherever yourself and Captain Suter shall deem 
the best and safest from attack of the enemy. 
Should it be necessary to have more troops to guard 
these six hundred, another regiment can be sent 
from this place. Still, it is desired that they may 
be guarded by the force at present in the Northern 
District if it is possible, as we want all the troops 
at this place that we now have. 



93 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

I have the honor to be, General, very respect- 
fuUy. 

Your obedient servant, 

W. L. M. Burger, 
Assistant Adjutant-General. 

(War Records, Vol. xxxv, p. 256.) 



Headquarters Northern District, Depart- 
ment OF the South, 

Morris Island, September 8, 1864. 

Gen. J. G. Foster, 

General: — I have the honor to report that on 
yesterday the Rebel prisoners of war were safely 
landed and placed in the stockade in front of Fort 
Strong. I found on my arrival here that General 
Schimmelfennig had already detailed the 54th Mas- 
sachusetts Regiment (negroes). Colonel Hallo well, 
to guard the prisoners, and as I was expected, as 
far as possible, to carry out his plans, have not 
changes the detail. I believe no better officer than 
Colonel Hallowell can be found in whose hands 
to place the prisoners for their safe keeping, and 
thus far the duty has been well performed. Last 
night was so dark and the weather so stormy that 
the navy boats did not report for duty at Paine's 
Dock. My boat brigade was out but saw nothing 
unusual. The navy detail has reported this morn- 



94 




(Lumber) 



CAPTAIN D. C. GRAYSON 
WASHINGTON, D. C. 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ing and no exertion will be spared to carry out 
successfully the object of the expedition. 
I am very respectfully, 

R. Saxton, 
Brig.-Gen. Commanding. 
(War Records, Vol. xxxv, pp. 275-276.) 



95 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



CHAPTER THREE 

March from old Schooner Hulk to Prison Stockade — 
Hot Sun — Men Sick Forced to Move On — Brutal 
White Officers and Nigger Soldiers — Prison 
Stockade — Water, Rations and Shelter. 

AFTER two days' confinement on 
the old schooner hulks, without 
much drinking water or rations, 
we were ordered, on the afternoon of the 
second day, to turn out and form in line 
on the beach. After forming and the 
counting of our number was finished the 
order was given to march. We started 
up the beach in full view of Sumter's 
guns. The day was intensely hot; the sun 
shone down upon us in all its splendor. 
We had not gone over half a mile before 
some of our men, weakened from the 
eighteen days on the filthy prison ship, 
fell, from prostration, in the sand. I was 
of this unfortunate number. The brutal 
white officers of the 54th Massachusetts 
(nigger) Regiment made the negro 



96 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

guards force us to get up and stagger on 
at the point of the bayonet in the hands 
of a negro soldier. When I had fallen in 
the sand an old man, wearing the badge 
of the Sanitary Commission, attempted to 
cross the guard line to help me. He was 
driven back by a burly Dutch lieutenant, 
with an oath, who ordered the negro 
guard to make me move on. I heard the 
old man protesting to the guard that we 
were human beings even if we were 
Rebels. When we reached the stockade 
prison-pen gate we were again halted, 
counted off by fours and sent inside the 
inclosure, where a negro sergeant as- 
signed us to tents, putting four men in 
each small A-tent which would not com- 
fortably hold more than two men. But 
what mattered this? We were prisoners 
of war, in the hands of a great and good 
government. Our camp was laid off be- 
tween batteries Waggoner and Gregg: 
Waggoner in our rear, Gregg in our 
front. We were in exact line of the guns 
of Fort Sumter. To the left of Battery 



97 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Gregg was a mortar battery; next to this 
was what the Yankees called an iron bat- 
tery; further to our left, facing Charles- 
ton, was a large gun the Yanks called 
the ''Swamp Angel"; and off to the right 
of our camp was the fleet of monitors 
with their guns all trained on our stock- 
ade prison, always ready shotted should 
we show the least sign of disobedience 
to the orders governing our prison. The 
guns on Battery Waggoner were ar- 
ranged to sweep our camp from the rear, 
and the guns on Battery Gregg to rake 
our camp from the front. All these Fed- 
eral batteries constantly drew the fire 
of our guns on Sumter, Johnson Island, 
Fort Moultrie and other forts guarding 
Charleston Harbor. The prison stockade 
was built of long pine poles driven in the 
sand and cleated together by pine boards. 
About the top of the high fence was a 
parapet, built that the negro guards might 
overlook our camp. This pen enclosed 
about two acres of sand. On the inside of 
the stockade fence, about ten feet from it. 



98 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

was stretched an inch rope, the rope be- 
ing supported on pickets driven into the 
sand. This was designated the dead line. 
For a prisoner to approach this line, on 
any pretext, was sure death; the sentinels 
were ordered to shoot him without hesi- 
tation or challenge. The space between 
the dead line and fence curtailed the space 
in our stockade prison very much. At 
the head of the middle street was placed 
a Mitrailleuse Requa gun, loaded and 
ready to open upon our camp at a mo- 
ment's notice. All this precaution was 
taken for fear we would overpower the 
negro guards and capture the island. 

After we had been arranged in com- 
panies and assigned to tents Colonel Hal- 
lowell, commandant of the 54th Massa- 
chusetts (negro) Regiment, our guards, 
had read to each company of prisoners 
the rules for government of the stockade 
prison. One rule provided for the shoot- 
ing of any prisoner that touched the dead 
line rope; another rule was, that if ten or 
more prisoners were assembled together 



99 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the sentinel was to order them to dis- 
perse, and if the order was not instantly 
obeyed by the prisoners the sentinel was 
instructed to fire into the crowd. This 
order kept us in constant fear of the ig- 
norant nigger guard shooting us. Ow- 
ing to the crowded state of our prison 
boundary it was an utter impossibility for 
us to keep from forming crowds, and the 
negro guards had little consideration for 
the "Rebs," as they termed us. One day 
Colonels Van Manning, Fulkerson, and 
myself were standing at the end of the 
centre street of the stockade, talking; two 
other prisoners joined us, making the 
crowd just five. The negro sentinel on 
the parapet, in the most insolent manner, 
ordered us to '"sperse dat crowd." Con- 
scious we were not violating any rule of 
the prison, we paid no heed to the nig- 
ger. The second time he gave the order 
he bellowed out at the top of his voice; 
'"Sperse dat crowd, you damned Rebs; 
dar's ball in dis here gun, just melting 
to get into your body. Hear me, don't 



100 



{ 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

you?" Of coiirse this last warning was 
sufficient to '"sperse de crowd." Another 
rule was, no lights or fires would be per- 
mitted in our camp at any time after taps 
were sounded; if a match was struck in 
our tents the negro sentinel was ordered 
to shoot into the tent where he saw the 
light. All the blankets given us at Fort 
Delaware were taken from us before we 
left the prison ship ''Crescent City," 
which left fully two-thirds of our number 
with only the clothes they stood in for 
covering. The following order for gov- 
ernment of our prison is the most drastic 
ever made by men authorized by a gov- 
ernment claiming civilization: 

Headquarters United States Forces, 
Morris Island, S. C, September 7, 1864. 
The following rules and regulations are 
hereby announced for the government of the 
camp of the prisoners of war: 

The prisoners will be divided into eight 
detachments, seventy-five in each, lettered A, 
B, C, etc., each prisoner numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 
etc. Each detachment will be under the 
charge of a warden, who will be detailed from 



101 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the guard for that duty. There will be three 
roll calls every day, the first at one hour after 
sunrise, the second at 12 m., the third at one- 
half an hour before sunset, at which times the 
prisoners will be counted by the wardens, and 
the reports will be taken by the officer of the 
day at the company streets, before the ranks 
are broken. Each warden will see that the 
quarters of his detachment are properly 
policed, and will make the detail necessary 
for such duty (from the prisoners). Sick call 
will be at 9 o'clock a. m. each day. Each 
warden will make a morning report to the 
officers in charge, on blanks suitable for the 
purpose. 

There will be two barrel sinks for each 
detachment, which will be placed on the flanks 
of the camp during the day, and at night in 
the company streets. They will be emptied 
after each roll call by detail from each de- 
tachment. No talking will be allowed after 
evening roll call, and no prisoner will leave 
his tent after that time except to obey the 
calls of nature. During the day the prisoners 
will be allowed the limits of the camp as 
marked by the rope running between the 
stockade and line of tents. Prisoners passing 
the line under any pretence whatever will be 
shot by the sentries. No persons, except the 



102 




LIEUTENANT E. LEE BELL 
VIRGINIA 



(Merchant) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

guard and officer being on duty at the camp, 
will be allowed to communicate with the pris- 
oners without written permission from these, 
or superior headquarters. The sentries will 
always have their guns loaded and capped. 
If more than ten prisoners are seen together 
except at meal time they will be fired upon 
by the sentinels. If there is any disturbance 
whatever in the camp or any attempt made by 
the prisoners to escape, the camp will be 
opened upon with grape and canister musketry, 
and the Requa batteries. If a prisoner is sick 
he may purchase such luxuries as the surgeon 
in charge may direct. The prisoners will be 
allowed to purchase only the following named 
articles: Writing materials, pipes, tobacco, 
and necessary clothing. Everything bought by 
or sent them will be inspected by the provost- 
marshal. The prisoners will be allowed to 
write letters once each week, not more than 
half sheet of paper to each letter. The letters 
will be open and pass through the hands of 
the provost-marshal before being mailed. No 
candles or Hghts of any kind will be allowed. 
The hours for meals will be as follows: 
Breakfast, 7 o'clock a. m.; dinner, 12 m.; sup- 
per, 5 o'clock p. m. The prisoners will be 
served under the direction of the provost- 
marshal. 



103 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

By order of Col. William Gurney, 127th 
N. Y. Vols., commanding post. 

R. L. Jewett, 
Captain 54th Mass. Vols., 
Acting Assistant Adjutant-General 
Official: G. W. Little, 

1st Lieutenant 127th N. Y. Vols., 
Acting aide-de-camp. 

Our rations, under this order, was a 
menu for wooden gods. It consisted of 
four hardtack army crackers, often rot- 
ten and green with mold, and one ounce 
of fat meat, issued to us at morning roll 
call; for dinner, we received one-half 
pint of bean or rice soup, made as the 
caprice of the cook suggested; for sup- 
per, we were allowed all the wind we 
could inhale. At sundown we were com- 
pelled to go into our tents and there re- 
main until roll call in the early morning. 
The ration stated was all we received 
while on Morris Island. Our drinldng 
water was obtained by digging holes in 
the sand, and then waiting until sufficient 
very insipid water would ooze out of the 
sand to quench thirst. 



104 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

The second day of oiir confinement 
in the stockade will never be forgotten 
by the survivors of that six hundred. At 
early noon the Federal batteries on Mor- 
ris Island, and all the guns of the Yankee 
fleet, opened on the Confederate forts and 
Charleston City. Our batteries all replied 
and for two or three hours the duel lasted. 
The shells from Sumter and our other 
batteries fell thick and fast upon the is- 
land, most of them uncomfortably close 
to our stockade. We began to think, for 
a time, our fellows in Sumter had forgot- 
ten we were prisoners on Morris Island; 
but before the duel was over we found 
our gunners were not directing their 
shells towards our pen. It was amusing 
to watch the negro guards on the para- 
pet dodge and drop when a shell from 
Sumter went across our stockade, or 
burst over the pen; it was all Hallo well 
and his officers could do to keep the ne- 
gro sentinels at their posts, the poor nig- 
gers were so frightened. Just as soon 
as they heard the report of a gun from 

105 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Sumter they would drop down on the 
parapet in fear. Hallowell and his offi- 
cers would beat them up with their 
swords. After this day there was only 
the general firing during the day, though 
at night our guns would be more rapidly 
fired, especially so our mortar guns. Af- 
ter we had been on the luxurious diet of 
four hardtack army crackers, one ounce 
of fat meat, and half a pint of sandy 
bean soup (which often tasted like it had 
been seasoned with soap), and with the 
bad drinking water, our condition was 
pretty bad. Our cooking was done out- 
side of the prison stockade by negroes 
detailed for the purpose. What filth 
these chefs put into the soup we could not 
see or know; it was brought into us — 
we could eat it or let it alone. We did 
not expect, as prisoners of war in Yankee 
hands, to have all the delicacies served 
by a Delmonico, but we did expect enough 
of food to sustain life. But Draco Stan- 
ton and his lieutenants. Gen. J. G. Fos- 
ter and Colonel Hallowell, had different 



106 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

views of humanity. This menu of star- 
vation, issued by the United States Gov- 
ernment, was good enough for helpless 
prisoners of war. Just think of this bill 
of fare: 

Breakfast, four rotten hardtack 
crackers. 

Dinner, one-half pint sandy soup. 

Supper, all the wind one could in- 
hale. 

Our medical treatment was the acme 
of cruelty, rendered by a red-headed cow 
doctor, whose only remedy, no matter 
what your complaint, was an opium pill 
or dose of Jamaica ginger. This red- 
headed doctor always reminded me of a 
country cross-road cow doctor whose 
knowledge of medicine was culled from 
a patent medicine almanac, and his prac- 
tice justified the conclusion. 

The colonel of the 54th Massachu- 
setts (negro) Regiment, his officers and 
niggers, were regular daisies. I recall 
one little sawed-off lieutenant who often 
called the prison roll; or rather took the 



107 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

report from the niggers who counted us 
three times each day. This Httle fellow 
had a sword about two feet longer than 
he was tall. The sword would get tangled 
up in his short legs, reminding one, as 
Pete Akers said, of a boy playing soldier. 
This fellow's dignity was huge — about 
on the order of a free nigger parson be- 
fore ''de wah," at a lodge funeral. 

Colonel Hallo well, with whom we 
were brought more in contact than any 
other officer, — for the reason he had full 
control of our pen, — was about the mean- 
est fellow our misfortunes brought us in 
connection with; in fact, the negroes he 
commanded were Chesterfields in polite- 
ness in contrast with this fellow. After 
we had been some weeks in the stockade 
under fire of our own guns, and the star- 
vation rations had begun to tell upon 
us, this doughty colonel one afternoon 
came into the stockade, had us drawn 
up in line, and made the following 
speech which I have never forgotten. He 
said: 



108 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

''The fate of war has placed you 
prisoners in my hands, and I will treat 
you as prisoners. I feel it my bounded 
duty to fight men who have raised their 
unhallowed hands against their country's 
flag. But I will try and treat you as 
men, since you have fallen into my 
hands, and this will be my duty so long 
as you obey the rules and orders laid 
down for the government of this prison 
camp." 

But he did not keep his word. He 
treated us like animals, and he did not 
intend to treat us like men when he said 
he would do so. He violated every prom- 
ise he ever made us, both in the spirit 
and letter; there was nothing this fellow 
left undone to make us uncomfortable 
and annoy us; he never let one opportu- 
nity pass to show his hatred for the 
South and her soldiers. And yet in our 
six hundred prisoners were the sons and 
grandsons of ancestors who had helped 
to make American history and consecrate 
the American flag, when probably the 



109 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ancestors of this fellow Hallowell were 
Massachusetts Tories, doing all they 
could to defeat the cause of the American 
Colonies, and possibly spies for the Eng- 
lish crown. And yet the fate of war 
compelled us to listen to the impudence 
of this doughty hero — unable to resent 
his insults. How brave he was, backed 
as he was by the bayonets of his nigger 
soldiers. One of his smart jokes was to 
come into our prison pen and say, in his 
arrogant drawl, ''Gentlemen, to-morrow 
I will have some barrels placed in the 
streets of your inclosure into which you 
can throw your bones. Of course, I mean 
your meat bones." This was cruel; it 
was cowardly to make such jests of our 
starving condition. He could see daily 
how the treatment was breaking down 
and killing our men; he reveled in our 
terrible condition. Most of the prisoners 
were suffering with acute dysentery. 
From this terrible complaint not one es- 
caped; but none of our men complained; 
none murmured against our government. 



110 




CAPTAIN J. W. MATHEWS 
WEST VIRGINIA 
(Merchant and Farmer) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

We knew the Richmond authorites were 
doing all they could for us, and, like the 
dying C^sar, we were too proud to let our 
Yankee jailors see that we suffered. It 
seems like blasphemy to charge the crea- 
tion of such a creature as this fellow to 
nature, and really an insult to his satanic 
majesty to say he created such a carica- 
ture on the human race as was Hallo well. 
As I stated before, acute dysentery, 
caused by the bad water we drank, and 
miserable rations of rotten, worm-filled 
hardtack crackers, put our men in very 
bad condition. On the night of Septem- 
ber 28, 1864, Lieutenant Frank Peake, of 
Morgan's men, who was one of my tent 
mates, was taken very sick, with every 
S3miptom of cholera. We had nothing 
to relieve his pain, and did not dare go 
out to call for help. Had one of us left 
the tent or called for help, the negro 
guard would have fired on us and been 
glad of the opportunity to do so. Their 
orders were to shoot any man who left 
his tent after taps, except to obey the 



111 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

calls of nature. Poor, dear old Peake! 
He suffered, all the night through, the 
most intense pain. At roll call I told the 
negro sergeant that Lieutenant Peake was 
ill and needed the attention of the doctor 
at once; but the doctor never came in un- 
til 9 o'clock, the regular hour for sick 
call of the prison pen. When he did come 
in, Lieutenant Hudgins, C. S. N., and 
Lieutenant Hugh Dunlap, my other tent 
mates, requested me to see the doctor and 
ask him to come at once to see Lieutenant 
Peake. I went to the hospital tent, as it 
was called, approaching the doctor in 
the most polite manner and with the most 
polite language I could command, re- 
lated to him Lieutenant Peake 's condi- 
tion, urging him to go over to see Peake, 
who, I thought, was in a dying condition, 
and would die unless he had immediate 
medical attention. Before this red-head- 
ed dispenser of pills replied to my urgent 
appeal for help, he looked me over from 
head to foot, then said, ''Can't the man 
come to my tent." "Why of course not, 



112 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

doctor; he cannot stand upon his feet; 
he is too ill to walk. Could he have come 
here I surely would not be so urgent in 
my appeal to you." "Well," he said, "if 
he is too bad to walk over here, he must 
wait until these other fellows here are 
served; they all need attention." "But, 
doctor," I said, "these gentlemen, in a 
manner, can help themselves. Lieutenant 
Peake is helpless, and I feel sure every 
gentleman here will wait if you will go 
to see Lieutenant Peake." With this I 
turned upon my heel and left the doctor's 
presence in disgust. I could hardly be- 
lieve there was a man living, wearing 
the badge of a fraternity whose aim was 
to save, not destroy life, who would re- 
fuse to relieve a dying fellow mortal, a 
helpless prisoner of war. I returned to 
my tent and reported my failure to get the 
doctor to respond. The boys could hard- 
ly credit it. Captain W. P. Crow, an old 
friend and companion of Lieutenant 
Peake, went over to see the dispenser of 
opium pills, but met with no more success 



113 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

than I did in inducing the doctor to see 
our patient. What can be said of such 
fellows as this doctor? Is nature respon- 
sible for their creation? Yes, but they 
sprang up from the foul growth of some 
northern city during the war; they were 
the poison weeds in the garden of life, 
killing with their poison all that is good 
and beautiful. Late in the afternoon the 
doctor came to our tent, but poor Peake 
had passed beyond human skill. Death, 
w4th her cruel, cold hand, was reaching 
out for him. He lived during the night, 
suffering the pains of the damned. On 
the morning of September 29th Captain 
Crow and Lieutenant Dunlap succeeded 
in getting Colonel Hallowell to remove 
Lieutenant Peake from the prison pen 
to the hospital, just out of range of Simi- 
ter's guns. Poor, dear Peake! We who 
knew him loved him for his Christian 
virtues, manly courage, and gentleness 
of heart. When he was carried through 
the prison pen gate we all felt we had 
looked for the last time upon him alive. 



114 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

He lingered for a day or two and died on 
the afternoon of October 2, 1864, just 
four days after his removal from under 
fire. Far away from loved ones and 
home this grand hero closed his eyes, to 
open them again only when the Grand 
Commander of all armies shall announce 
the day of the great muster. There in 
the hospital tent on Morris Island, upon 
a pallet of straw, sleeping the sleep of the 
just, the true, and the brave, lay a Con- 
federate soldier whose spirit had sur- 
rendered only to death. He laid down 
his life for the cause of the South, the 
land he loved. About him stood men in 
blue; they were enemies, they could not 
understand, they could not know, the 
great heart that had ceased to beat. In 
the twilight we dug him a grave in the 
sands of Morris Island, and laid him to 
rest, while the shot and the shells from 
Charleston and Sumter's batteries sang 
his funeral dirge. Peace to his ashes! 

This is not the only case of heroism 
of the Confederate Army. The Confed- 



115 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

erate Army was composed of men like 
Lieutenant Peake. High upon the scroll 
of honor and fame their names are writ- 
ten in letters of gold. There they will 
ever remain, the brightest gems in the 
Southland's coronet. Story and song will 
tell their deeds of valor and courage; gen- 
erations will sing their praise; they need 
no monuments of metal nor stone to per- 
petuate their memory and names. Their 
fortitude, courage, and fidelity to duty 
during four long, bloody years of war, 
such as the world never knew, is a monu- 
ment that will outlast any that could be 
constructed by human hands. When the 
truthful history of the war is written, 
and the passion of men has cooled, that 
an authentic record may be made, upon 
that record will be found the names of 
every Confederate soldier who wore the 
gray and did his duty. It matters not if 
he came from the halls of wealth or the 
lowly cottage upon the mountain side, nor 
if he wore the stars of the general of- 
ficer, or the gray blouse of the ranks. If 



116 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

he did his duty he was a patriot, a noble- 
man. His old gray jacket gave him a 
patent to nobility greater and grander 
than those conferred by mortal hands. 
God, Himself, gave to the Confederate 
soldier the right of nobility; the old gray 
jacket was his decoration and insignia 
of the cause we loved and lost — the no- 
bility of manhood. 

We had now been on Morris Island 
several weeks, suffering the pangs of star- 
vation, and every man bearing himself 
with dignity and courage through the 
trying ordeal. One morning in October, 
to our surprise, the guns of old Sumter, 
Charleston, Moultrie, and Johnson were 
silent. We could not divine why, and 
began to make all kinds of surmises. The 
negro guards and their officers walked 
leisurely about, without the fearful look 
they generally bore. After a long time 
we ascertained, from one of the negro 
sergeants in charge of our camp, that the 
Confederate Government had demanded 
our removal from under fire and off of 



117 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Morris Island, or they were going to place 
six hundred officers (Federal prisoners of 
war) on the ramparts of Fort Sumter. 
He also stated that General Foster, com- 
manding United States forces, had asked 
for a flag of truce conference, which was 
then in session. We could see the men 
on Fort Sumter's ramparts. All was as 
serene as a church picnic. Later on, this 
negro sergeant informed us that the Sec- 
retary of War, himself, from Washing- 
ton, was on the flag of truce boat with 
his cabinet, and was making arrange- 
ments to exchange all the prisoners of 
war, colored troops included. We were, 
of course, elated at this information, and 
speculation, rumors and ''grape" filled 
the camp. At sundown the guns of 
Charleston, Sumter, and the Yankee guns 
on Morris Island began booming; then 
we knew there was to be no exchange; 
but the next morning the guns were again 
silent, the flag of truce boats were again 
together. At evening roll call the negro 
sergeant informed us exchange had been 



118 



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LIEUTENANT A. J. ARMSTRONG 
ALABAMA 



(Planter) 



t 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

accomplished. To confirm this Colonel 
Hallowell informed us he was going to 
be rid of us at last, and ordered us to be 
ready at daylight the next morning to 
move out of the stockade and off the is- 
land, for exchange. At daylight we were 
ordered to fall into line; out of the prison 
stockade we marched, down the beach to 
the old schooner hulks, which were util- 
ized as our prison when we first landed 
on the island. We were packed on board 
of these old schooner hulks, the '' Transit" 
and '*J. A. Genet," where we remained 
thirty-six hours while the flag of truce 
boats were together off Fort Sumter. 
The conference failed to agree upon an ex- 
change and we were marched back into 
the stockade prison pen in the afternoon, 
to again face the rigors of retaliation and 
brutality; and it can be said the Immortal 
Six Hundred faced the music Hke men. 
Why the exchange had failed of accom- 
plishment we could never learn. On our 
return to the prison pen, from our march 
down the beach, our hearts were made 



119 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

glad by a lot of boxes of tobacco, sweet 
potatoes, and peanuts our government had 
sent us under flag of truce. This renewed 
our strength, and we were all grateful. 
It was all our government had to send, 
and it told us the story of want at home, 
but gave us the cheering, silent news that 
we were not forgotten by our govern- 
ment and people in our trials and tribu- 
lations. For several days we just revelled 
in good old Rebel sweet potatoes and pea- 
nuts, and blew off our misfortunes in the 
smoke of good old Dixie tobacco. Our 
cares for the time vanished, and we slept 
like princes after a banquet. In the early 
morning the shelling of the island awoke 
us, the same old monotony settled upon 
the camp, the negro sentinels surrounded 
our camp, and the daily roll calls of the 
Yanks kept us from forgetting we were 
still prisoners of war on Morris Island, 
under fire of our own guns, suffering all 
the torments of retaliation, as unjust as 
it was cowardly and cruel. 

After several days we were again or- 



120 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

dered to pack up and be ready to move 
at daylight from the prison pen. Colonel 
Hallowell, who gave the order, said, "In 
view of the fact that you are to move 
early in the morning, you can all leave 
your tents earlier than usual to prepare 
for the march." Thinking, of course, he 
would give orders to the sentinels to allow 
us to leave our tents (and he said he 
would give the order) some of our fel- 
lows, prisoners, got up very early and 
built a small fire in the rear of their 
tents to boil some sweet potatoes. The 
negro sentinel ordered them to put out 
that fire, and followed his order with a 
shot from his musket, seriously but not 
dangerously wounding Captain Blair, of 
North Carolina, and Lieutenant Harris, 
of Virginia. The matter was reported 
to Colonel Hallowell, but no punishment 
or reprimand was inflicted upon the negro 
sentinel who had so flagrantly violated 
Colonel Hallo well's order; and I right 
here want to say that it was the general 
belief of our men that Hallowell never 



121 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

gave the order to his negro sentinels. 
Most likely the negro was complimented 
for shooting Rebel prisoners of war. 

Here is an order that Colonel Hallo- 
well most openly violated. On page 312, 
Volume XXXV, War Records, Stewart 
M. Taylor, Assistant Adjutant-General, 
Department of South, in a letter to Colo- 
nel Hallo well, says: 

"* * * I am directed to inform you that 
the brigadier-general commanding is not de- 
sirous that the Rebel prisoners should be em- 
ployed to empty their sink tubs. Our officers 
in the hands of the Rebel authorities are not 
subjected to this indignity. * * * " 

The letter is dated October 6, 1864, 
and addressed to Colonel Hallo well, in 
command of prison camp, Morris Island, 
S. C. Yet Colonel Hallowell never gave 
the least attention to the order, and com- 
pelled us to do this menial thing, although 
they admit that our people did not subject 
the Federal prisoners of war to such in- 
dignities. 

On pages 284-285, General Foster. 



122 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

in a letter to General vSaxton, command- 
ing Morris Island, says : 

"* * * The rations of our officers (pris- 
oners of war) in Charleston have been ascer- 
tained to be as follows: Fresh meat, three- 
fourths pound, or one-half pound salt meat; 
one-fifth pint of rice; one-half pound of hard 
bread or one-half pint of meal; one-fifth pint 
of beans. I desire, in rationing the prisoners 
of war now in your hands, that you should 
be governed accordingly, making sure that 
they receive no more than the above, except 
what salt or vinegar may be necessary for 
them. Our prisoners confined in Charleston 
do their own cooking, and I desire that the 
prisoners in your hands be made to do the 
same. The cooking must be done within the 
limits of the prison camp, and the printed 
orders of Colonel Gumey modified according- 
Now here is an admission from the 
major-general commanding the Depart- 
ment of the South that it had been ascer- 
tained that the Confederate Government 
was feeding the prisoners of war good 
rations in Charleston, yet we prisoners 



123 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

of war in General Foster's hands, under 
fire on Morris Island, were fed four rot- 
ten hardtack crackers, with half a pint of 
soup each day. Was, we ask, this cruelty 
wanton? If these Yanks had treated us 
half as well as our government treated 
Federal prisoners of war we would have 
made no protest. On the word of a de- 
serter (Charles Harris) from Charleston, 
who said there were 600 or 700 Federal 
prisoners of war under fire in Charleston, 
was this cruel, cowardly retaliation in- 
flicted upon us Confederate soldiers. 
Further on in the same letter General 
Foster calls Saxton's attention to the pos- 
sible attempt that might be made by our 
forces to release us. He says, **In case 
of an attack, shoot down any Rebel pris- 
oners found out of the stockade." What 
humanity General Foster displays in this 
order; what a contrast between the 
treatment of the Union prisoners of war 
in our hands and the Confederate prison- 
ers of war in the Federal prisons of the 
North. 



124 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

When the order came to move out of 
the stockade pen we thanked God ex- 
change had come at last. We would soon 
be free men, back in Dixie, away from 
Hallowell, Foster, and their brutal nig- 
gers. But, alas, disappointment awaited 
us; hope was to be ousted from our 
hearts by despair, and fate had in store 
for us a harder ordeal. As we marched 
down the beach to once more board the 
old schooner hulks our hearts were glad, 
but before the sun set we knew exchange 
was not for us. Before leaving Morris 
Island all blankets marked U. S. were 
taken from those who had them. This 
was done by order, we were told, of Gen- 
eral Foster. After being packed on the 
old schooner hulks the 127th New York 
Volunteers took charge of us. White 
troops, at last! This was at least a bet- 
terment of our condition. After a short 
delay at the Morris Island wharf, a gun- 
boat took us in tow for Fort Pulaski, on 
Cock-Spur Island, at the mouth of the 
Savannah River. 



125 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Before leaving Morris Island some 
of our number, through influence at 
home, succeeded in being exchanged 
specially. All the wounded of our party 
(fifty or more) were exchanged at Hil- 
ton Head. 

There was nothing of great moment 
occurred on the trip from Morris Island 
to Fort Pulaski. The white troops gave 
us of their rations, and made our condi- 
tion as comfortable as they could. 

There was an incident occurred, 
just as we were leaving the stockade pen 
on Morris Island, that made me regret 
very much my hasty action. As I said 
before, it was the general impression, as 
we marched out of the pen, that we were 
to be exchanged; and this fact made me 
feel like telling Colonel Hallowell my 
opinion of him. He was standing at the 
prison gate, glaring at us as we passed 
out. We were marching by fours; in the 
fours just ahead of me was Capt. Bruce 
Gibson, Major W. W. Goldsborough, and 
two other officers whose identity I now 



126 




CAPTAIN T. N. KENT 
GEORGIA 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

forget. When I reached Hallo well I 
halted and said, ''You yellow-faced 
scoundrel, we are going back home now, 
and I hope and pray to God that it may 
be my fortune to get my hands on you, 
that the world may be rid of such a 
brute." His face turned livid with rage. 
He shouted out to one of the nigger 
guards to shoot that man, meaning me; 
but the guard pointed his gun direct at 
Capt. Bruce Gibson, and would have killed 
him but for the order of one of the 
negro sergeants to put down his gun. 
By this time the line had passed Hallo- 
well, and Captain Gibson was saved. I 
never in all my life was so unstrung; my 
foolish temper had almost cost an inno- 
cent life — the life of my dearest friend. 
After this incident my temper was kept 
under control. This was the only con- 
versation I ever had with Hallowell. 
When he came into our prison pen I got 
out of his way. I hated the man with an 
insane hate for his treatment of Lieuten- 
ant Peake. After we learned that we 



127 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

were not to be exchanged we began to 
speculate as to what the Yanks would do 
to us, now they had taken us from under 
fire. The wildest talk that was ever heard 
was listened to on the transport that night. 
Lieut. Pete Akers said he was sure we 
were all to be slaughtered, and boots for 
General Foster and his staff made of our 
hides. Others said we were to be put to 
work on river and harbor fortifications; 
but Captain Hammack, of Kentucky, said 
a sentinel told him, confidentially, that we 
were to be slaughtered at Fort Pulaski, 
packed in salt, and fed to Foster's nig- 
gers to make them fight. At daylight on 
the morning after leaving Morris Island 
we arrived at Fort Pulaski's wharf. 
About 9 o'clock we were ordered to fall 
into line on deck. Then we were marched 
onto the fort wharf, lined up and 
searched. What few U. S. blankets our 
men had hid from the Morris Island 
search were taken from us, leaving a 
large majority of us with only the clothes 
we stood in. After this exercise we were 



128 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

marched into the fort casements, on the 
north side of the fort. Here we found 
luxurious quarters, consisting of rough 
pine board bunks to hold four people — 
two on top, two below, — no stoves, no 
blankets, no comforts, but the hard, 
rough pine board bunks; no downy pil- 
lows; no good, thick, warm comforts; no 
washstands, no easy rockers. All was 
hard, rough pine board bunks, and some 
of our fellows had the temerity to openly 
complain of such winter quarters, and say 
ugly things of the best government, etc., 
etc., while others of us thanked God we 
had white troops as guards. Our first 
meal in Fort Pulaski was a feast fit for 
the gods. It consisted of excellent white 
bread, good fat meat, and a great, big tin 
cup of delicious vegetable soup, with lots 
of grease in it. After getting settled in 
the fort, with splendid cisterns of good 
drinking water, we began to think our 
troubles and woes had ended. On the 
day after our arrival, Col. P. P. Brown, 
commandant of Fort Pulaski, colonel 



129 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

127th New York Volunteers, came into 
our prison quarters. We were drawn up 
in line, and he made a short speech. He 
said: ''Gentlemen, you shall be treated, 
while in my custody, humanely. You 
who have friends within our lines with 
whom you can correspond may write 
them at once for money, clothing, and 
such other articles that will add to your 
comfort. I will do all for you I can do, 
consistent with my duty, to make you as 
comfortable as possible. Myself and my 
regiment have seen service in the field 
and know what is due a brave foe. I will 
make this the model military prison of the 
United States. I have already made 
requisition on headquarters for blankets 
and clothing for you, and full army 
rations, together with plenty of fuel. All 
I shall ask is that you obey orders for 
government of the prison, and such sani- 
tary rules as shall be issued by me." 

We began to believe this was a 
dream. For a few days we had good 
white bread and plenty of it — full army 



130 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

rations for a fact. But, alas, we were 
to be rudely awakened from this happy 
dream. Colonel Brown informed us his 
requisition had been ignored by Gen. J. 
G. Foster, commandant of the depart- 
ment, and he (Brown) was ordered to 
issue to us ten ounces of com meal and 
one-half pint of onion pickle each twen- 
ty-four hours, as a ration, without salt 
meat, grease, or vegetables. Ten ounces 
of corn meal, one-half pint of pickle — 
nothing more. No fuel but twelve sticks 
of pine cord wood for each division of 
twenty-eight men. The order, he said, 
was peremptory, leaving him no discre- 
tion whatever, and he was powerless in 
the matter. It must be said of Colonel 
Brown and his officers that they were 
gentlemen, and when he made the promise 
to treat us humanely and kindly he in- 
tended to keep his promise to the letter. 
The officers and men of the 127th New 
York (our guards) never failed to show 
their disgust for General Foster and his 
brutal corn meal order. No one but a 



131 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

brute like Foster could have conceived 
such a ration to starve men. If the corn 
meal had been good we might have 
managed to live upon it and kept off the 
scurvy; but the meal was rotten — filled 
with black weevil bugs and worms. The 
barrels were branded, "Corn meal, kiln 

dried from Mills, 1861," showing 

by the brand and date on the barrels that 
it was four years old; condemned by the 
quartermaster as unfit food for nigger 
troops, but excellent diet for helpless Con- 
federate prisoners of war. The acid 
onion and cucumber pickle was given us 
it was said, to prevent scurvy; but the 
fact is this: it was issued to create appe- 
tite and add misery to our hunger. To 
fully understand this ten-ounces-of-rot- 
ten-corn-meal-and-pickle order one must 
compare it with the United States Army 
regulation ration, which is one and one- 
quarter pounds ground com — ground 
with peas — besides coffee, tea, sugar, 
bread, and meat. But our ration was 
simply ten ounces of rotten corn meal 

132 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

and one-half pint of acid onion and cu- 
oimber pickle, without salt or meat or 
grease, — ^save the worms and bugs in the 
meal, — and this was to sustain life. Af- 
ter picking out the lumps, bugs, and 
worms in this rotten com meal there was 
not more than seven ounces of meal left 
fit for use. And here I claim Gen. J. G. 
Foster, by issuing us unsound corn meal, 
robbed us of what his himiane govern- 
ment intended we should have. Some of 
my comrades say that about the 1st of 
March, 1865, this corn meal ration was 
supplemented by four ounces of white 
bread. This may have been so, but this 
I do know: that six of us were not in the 
least benefited by the bread addition. We 
were locked up in a damp, cold cell in 
another part of the prison. Why, I will 
tell further on. Upon the com-meal- 
pickle ration we lived for sixty-three days^ 
oiu" men suffering the torments of the 
lost. After we had been a few weeks at 
Fort Piilaski General Foster ordered that^ 
for sanitary reasons, our number should 



133 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

be divided and part sent to him at Hilton 
Head. I have always, and do now, be- 
lieve that General Foster ordered part of 
our men sent to him at Hilton Head, his 
headquarters, that, like Nero, he could 
look on and enjoy the sufferings of his 
helpless victims starving to death. About 
December 10th scurvy made its appear- 
ance in our prison amongst the weakest 
of the prisoners. Most every man in the 
prison was suffering more or less with 
dysentery, and a large majority were, 
from the starvation diet, unable to leave 
their bunks. It was a pitiable sight to 
see human beings being starved to death 
by a government claiming to be civilized, 
humane, and religious. 

Each man was his own cook. In the 
casemate of each division of prisoners 
there was a very large cook stove; each 
twenty-four hours twelve cord sticks of 
wood — pine — ^was issued to each twen- 
ty-eight men or division, as they were des- 
ignated. Every morning the com meal 
was issued. The fires were started in the 



134 




CAPTAIN T. B. MARTIN 
SOUTH CAROLINA 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

cook stoves but once each day — at noon 
— so that the prisoner who was not ready 
to cook his meal when the fire was started, 
ate it raw or let it alone until noon next 
da}^, when the fire would be again started. 
And bear in mind, my reader, it was rot- 
ten com meal, without salt, meat, or 
grease to flavor it with. 

The drinking water was excellent, 
obtained from the fort cisterns. There 
was no fuel allowed us for fires during the 
day, yet some of our men would manage 
to get hold of a chunk of coal, and with 
an old camp kettle, they constructed 
stoves, and kept the atmosphere just 
above the freezing point. We had no 
blankets to keep us warm at night, and 
our beds were hard pine boards with no 
soft side. No idea can be formed of our 
condition while we remained at Fort Pu- 
laski. On Christmas day, 1864, the snow 
on the fort parade ground was four inches 
deep, and we prisoners of war had neither 
fire, blankets, nor clothing to shield us 
from the rigors of the winter weather. 



135 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Really, it seemed like the elements had 
joined hands with Stanton and Foster to 
destroy us. There can be no claim set up 
by the Federal authorities and General 
Foster, commanding Department of the 
South, that the ration given us was the 
best that could be done for us. If such 
claim is made, it is false, for I do know 
that the storehouse of the fort contained 
commissary stores going to waste, while 
we human beings were being starved to 
death. The treatment of our prisoners 
of war by General Foster, U. S. A., was 
the refinement of cruelty. God grant I 
may never be again subjected to such 
cruelty, nor witness such infamous bar- 
barity, as that inflicted upon the six hun- 
dred Confederate officers at Fort Pulaski. 
It was shocking to look upon these poor, 
helpless prisoners of war, starved until 
they became walking skeletons; and some 
of the six hundred were wounded men, 
whose wounds had not yet healed over. 
Why they were not exchanged with those 
at Hilton Head I do not know. Hunger 



136 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

drove our men to catching and eating 
dogs, cats, and rats. Now, when I can 
calmly think over the terrible ordeal, I 
wonder why we did not eat each other. 
How one man of the Immortal Six Hun- 
dred came out of Fort Pulaski and Hilton 
Head prisons alive is beyond the ken of 
man. God only knows. Our men became 
as expert as cats at catching rats. If a 
rodent poked his nose out of his hole 
some fellow would nab him like a cat. 
We had cleaned out all the cats about 
the fort but one. He was a pet of Colonel 
Brown's wife; she begged us not to dis- 
turb him, so Tom came in our prison per- 
fectly free from danger, although I must 
say that about Christmas day the temp- 
tation was very great to make a Christmas 
roast of Tom. We went through Christ- 
mas week dreaming and talking of the 
good things our people must have at 
home in Dixie, and we would wonder if 
our loved ones and comrades had any- 
thing to eat beyond their army rations. 
On the first day of January, 1865, the 



137 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

scurvy became prevalent in our prison. 
The doctor, whose name I cannot remem- 
ber, did the best he could for us with 
the medicine General Foster's order al- 
lowed him to use in practice amongst 
the prisoners. He would often say, 
''Men, the medicines allowed me are not 
the proper remedies for scurvy, but I can 
get no other for you. I am doing all I 
can for you." On or about the 15th of 
January, 1865, our condition became so 
serious that Capt. J. Lewis Cantwell, of 
North Carolina, wrote a letter to some 
friends in relation to our treatment. If 
the letter ever reached Richmond I do 
not know. Below is a copy of the letter 
sent by Captain Cantwell: 

Fort Pulaski, Ga., February 6, 1865. 
Hon. George Davis, 

Attorney- General C. S. A., 
Richmond, Va. 
My Dear Sir: 

Believing that it is not contraband and 
that the Federal authorities do not desire to 
conceal the facts, I write to you to state briefly 
the suffering and privation to which we are 



138 




(Merchant) 



LIEUTENANT B. D. MERCHANT 
VIRGINIA 



^^ 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

subjected, and I challenge a denial. Since the 
1st day of January last our ration has been per 
day ten ounces of corn meal, about four ounces 
of wheat bread, salt, etc., and more pickles than 
we can eat! And until very recently this, too, 
was the only diet for those of us who were 
sick. Three-fourths of our number are in 
consequence sick with scurvy, diarrhoea, and 
coughs, and supplies have not been allowed 
to reach such of us as had friends to send 
them, but were returned; and we are directed 
to apply to General Wessel at Washington, 
D. C, for permits to receive them. A num- 
ber of applications have been made, but as yet 
no reply has been received. I write request- 
ing that these facts be made known in the 
proper quarter. To our enemies I have no 
complaint to make. 

Very truly your friend, 

John S. Cantwell, 
Captain 3d N. C. Inf., 
Prisoner of War. 

Our condition was almost beyond en- 
durance during the last days of January. 
Colonels De Gurney, Le Breton, Captain 
Cantwell, and others wrote Colonel 
Brown, commandant of the prison, a let- 
ter, which must have been sent to Gen- 



139 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

eral Grover, commanding Savannah Dis- 
trict, who sent his medical director to in- 
spect our prison and report oiir condition. 
Here is General Grover's letter to superior 
headquarters : 

Headquarters District of Savannah, 

Savannah, Ga., February 7, 1865. 

Assistant Adjutant-General, 

Headquarters Department of the South. 

My medical director yesterday inspected 
the condition of the Rebel prisoners confined 
at Fort Pulaski, and represents that they are 
in a condition of great suffering and exhaus- 
tion for want of sufficient food and clothing; 
also, that they have scurvy to considerable 
extent. He recommends, as a necessary sani- 
tary measure, that they be at once put on full 
prison rations and, also, that they be allowed 
to receive necessary articles of clothing from 
friends. I would respectfully endorse the 
surgeon's recommendations, and ask authority 
to take such steps as may be necessary to re- 
lieve actual sickness and suffering. 

C. Grover, 
Brev. Maj.-Gen. Commanding. 
(War Records, Vol. viii, Series ii. Serial 
121, p. 163.) 

140 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

No attention was paid by headquar- 
ters to this request of General Grover. 
The com-meal-pickle diet went on, and 
we suffered. No blankets, no clothing 
were ever given us, — and I have been in- 
formed by Dr. Cherry, now of Virginia, 
that he was one of a committee who de- 
livered to Gen. J. G. Foster, imder flag 
of truce, clothing and other articles for 
our comfort, which General Foster's flag 
of truce officers received and promised 
should be delivered to the prisoners at 
Fort Pulaski and Hilton Head, but which 
never were given us, but stolen by the 
men, I suppose, who received them for 
us under a flag of truce. General Foster, 
U. S. A., has much to be proud of in this 
transaction. I shall pass it without fur- 
ther comment. 

About the last days of January and 
during the month of February our suf- 
fering was most intense. Scurvy had 
strong hold on our men, and the doctor 
in charge of the prison was not allowed 
the proper medicine to combat the dread 



141 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

disease. I say again, it is strange that 
we did not eat each other. Nothing but 
the bayonets of the guards prevented it. 
The first dog meat used in our prison 
was the suggestion of Lieut. Dave N. 
Prewett, one of Morgan's famous cavalry, 
who by his persuasive manner, decoyed 
inside of the dead Hne a beautiful setter 
dog, property of one of the fort officers. 
When the dog crossed the dead line it was 
but a few moments before Prewitt had 
him inside the prison. In very short or- 
der the carcass of the dog was ready for 
the pan, in the shape of chops, roasts, 
and fries. After cooking the dog meat 
Prewitt invited some of his friends to the 
feast, I amongst them. The meat, to us 
starving men, was delicious. The next 
feast of dog meat was served by Lieut. 
Matt Hixon, Arkansas. There was a fine, 
large, fat pointer that often came into our 
prison, and Hixon concluded one day to 
slaughter this dog, which he did; and 
again we reveled in dog meat. We had 
steaks, roasts, and soup. The meat was 



142 




(Planter, retired) 



LIEUTENANT HOPKINS HARDIN 
MISSOURI 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

tender and white; but, reader, I do not 
commend dog meat as a daily food, but 
if you ever are so unfortunate as to be a 
prisoner of war in the hands of a Gen. 
J. G. Foster, hving on retaliation rations, 
you will find in your hunger that dog 
meat is most excellent, indeed. 

It is impossible to explain how we 
lived through the terrible ordeal of fire 
and starvation. Those were horrible 
days — days which most thoroughly con- 
vinced me that nothing but actual ex- 
periment can determine how much star- 
vation, hunger, and bad treatment a hu- 
man being can stand, especially if he was 
a prisoner of war in the hands of the 
Federal Government during the years 
1861-65. When the wolf, hunger, takes 
hold of a man, all that is human in the 
man disappears. He will, in his hunger, 
eat anything. I most fully understand, 
after my personal experience, why those 
poor fellows on the late expedition to 
the North Pole did eat each other, and 
thought it no crime. No person knows 



143 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

what hunger is, what it really means, un- 
less they have had an experience in star- 
vation's grasp. The torture of starva- 
tion exceeds all other torture in inten- 
sity; it beats sheol itself. What can be 
greater torture to a man with the least 
heart than to suflEer himself and see those 
he loves suffering about him, and he 
powerless to help them? It was sad, it 
was heart-breaking, to see the sufiEering 
of our men in the Fort Pulaski prison; 
suffering because Gen. J. G. Foster pre- 
ferred to take the word of Confederate 
deserters to the word of his own officers 
and men who, over their own signatures, 
wrote him they were not under fire, not 
in danger, but kindly and fairly treated 
by the Confederate authorities, both of- 
ficers and men, who guarded them. One 
of the very sad cases of the regime at 
Fort Pulaski prison comes vividly back 
to me now. Lieut. Billy Funk, 5th Regt., 
Stonewall Brigade, one of our number, 
was little more than a boy in years when 
he joined the Confederate Army in 1861. 



144 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

A gallant, brave boy, he was captured 
May 12, 1864, at the battle of Spottsyl- 
vania Court House, reaching Fort Dela- 
ware prison just in time to be selected 
as one of the six hundred to be turned 
over to the tender care of humane Gen. 
J. G. Foster, U. S. A. Upon Lieutenant 
Funk, the rigors of retaliation worked 
very hard, and soon completely broke 
him down. But never a complaint es- 
caped his lips, and he bore his suffering 
like a hero. Lieut. Tom S. Doyle, a 
noble fellow. Funk's messmate and regi- 
mental comrade, with us all, did all we 
could to help him and keep him alive, 
giving him part of our scanty corn meal 
ration and all the white bread given us, 
which was just two oxinces. (This white 
bread was not added to our com-meal- 
pickle ration until late in February.) In 
his suffering with dysentery and scurvy 
Funk lost heart and nerve, slowly starv- 
ing to death. One day I had the good 
fortune to catch a big fat cat. Capt. 
Thornton Hammack, 49th Ky. Regt., 



145 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

skinned the animal for me, and dressed 
it for the pan. In an old tin can I made 
soup of part of the cat for Funk, and, 
after threats and coaxing, I prevailed 
upon him to drink some of the soup. The 
effect upon him was magical. It revived 
him in spirits and for a time counteracted 
the effects of the scurvy. As long as I 
could get him rat and cat meat he showed 
signs of improvement; but the cats gave 
out, and the rats I could not catch. I 
had not the wealth to purchase them from 
the fellows who could, so poor Billy 
Funk relapsed back into his former con- 
dition. He never rallied, and died, short- 
ly after our return to Fort Delaware 
prison, in the arms of his mother who 
was allowed to see him an hour or two 
before his death. Poor, dear Billy Funk! 
Methinks I can see your sad face now, 
and hear yotir gentle voice in prayer to 
God for relief denied you by your fellow 
man. Lieutenant Funk's remains now 
rest in Mount Hebron Cemetery — hal- 
lowed grounds — in Winchester, Va., be- 



146 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

side the remains of his gallant brother, 
Col. Stover Funk, commanding the old 
Stonewall Brigade, who was mortally 
woimded, almost in sight of his home, 
near the close of the war. Billy Funk 
was a good Christian man. God bless 
the mothers of the South who gave such 
boys to the cause of right. 

We had not less than two hundred of 
our number at Fort Pulaski suffering with 
dysentery and scurvy. At one time many 
died and were buried in the graveyard of 
the fort. 

The officers and men of the 127th 
New York Volunteers were, from Colo- 
nel Brown down the line, clever, hu- 
mane men. They felt our condition and 
did whatever they dared to alleviate our 
suffering. The doctor in charge of our 
prison medical department was a kind- 
hearted man; I regret his name has gone 
from me, but his kindness to our suffer- 
ing men will never be forgotten. Often, 
in these days of peace and plenty, the days 
of the ordeal of 1864-5 at Pulaski, comes 



147 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

back to me, and the kind face of that doc- 
tor, who did all that man could do for 
us with the medicines allowed for our use 
by that Christian soldier, Gen. J. G. Fos- 
ter, U. S. A. All the doctor had in his 
medicine chest for use in the prison was 
calomel pills, opium pills, salts, and 
Jamaica ginger, with a few other medi- 
cines the doctor would smuggle into the 
prison for the very sick. Had he been 
detected by Foster's spies in this act of 
humanity, he would have lost his com- 
mission, and possibly his liberty, for dis- 
obedience of orders. Language cannot 
describe our condition during the last 
days at Fort Pulaski, on the com meal 
and pickle diet. Words are inadequate 
to make the picture. No pen can draw 
the ghastly picture and horrors of those 
days and nights, when the United States 
government permitted Gen. J. G. Foster, 
U. S. A., to starve six hundred helpless 
Confederate prisoners of war, at Fort Pu- 
laski and Hilton Head. Edwin M. Stan- 
ton, Federal Secretary of War, gave the 



148 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

orders; Gen. J. G. Foster executed them. 

The very idea of feeding human be- 
ings on ten ounces of com meal and half 
a pint of acid pickles is revolting in it- 
self. But couple it with the fact that the 
meal was rotten, filled with worms, with- 
out salt, meat, or grease to flavor it, is 
almost beyond belief. Yet the proof is 
beyond question that this rotten corn 
meal and pickle was all the ration Gen. 
J. G. Foster, the humane modem Nero^ 
gave us while held at Hilton Head and 
Fort Pulaski as prisoners of war. 

What was the result from this cruel 
order of retaliation? Under the sands of 
Morris Island, Hilton Head, S. C, and 
in the swamp graveyard of Fort Pulaski, 
and buried under the swamp, are Confed- 
erate soldiers — prisoners of war — 
murdered by the cruel retaliation orders 
of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, 
and his chief executioner, Gen. J. G. Fos- 
ter, U. S. A. 

Over the graves of these grand Con- 
federate braves the bright stars of heaven 



149 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

keep vigil; the wild sea birds sing re- 
quiems to their rest, far away from 
their loved dead the hearts of many moth- 
ers mourn their boys, many a poor wife 
her husband, many a noble and sweet 
woman her soldier lover, who had left 
her and marched away to battle for the 
land he loved with her prayer — ''God 
keep you and bless you, my darling" — 
ringing in his ear, who found an un- 
marked but honored grave under the 
sands of Morris Island, Hilton Head, and 
in the swamps about Fort Pulaski; and 
these graves point heavenward, monu- 
ments to the vindictive and wanton 
cruelty of Stanton and Foster to the six 
hundred Confederate officers, victims of 
their hate. 

Col. P. P. Brown, I repeat, was a 
humane man. His soul revolted at the 
cruelty inflicted upon us by order of his 
superior officer. General" Foster. Colonel 
Brown, we were informed by his officers, 
had asked General Foster, time and time 
again, to send him and his regiment to 



150 




CAPTAIN J. H. POLK 
TEXAS 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the front; that they loathed their positions 
as jailors over helpless, starving men, 
over whose treatment they had no con- 
trol. We wrote Colonel Brown a petition 
on one occasion, asking him to come into 
our prison and see our actual condition. 
His reply was, *'I cannot come and see 
the suffering of my fellow man which I 
am completely powerless to modify or 
prevent. My requests for you have all 
been ignored by headquarters; I can do 
nothing to alleviate your condition." On 
Sunday inspection Colonel Brown and his 
staff would rush through our prison like 
they were glad to get away from the 
sight of cruelty presented to them. 

I want to say a few words for Colo- 
nel Brown's wife. One day, in a fit of 
desperation, I wrote Colonel Brown a 
note, asking him to grant me an inter- 
view. To my surprise, on the following 
day he granted it. A sergeant conducted 
me to his office quarters. The Colonel 
received me politely. I told him I had 
an uncle in St. Louis, St. Andrew Mur- 



151 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ray, who would gladly aid me with 
money if I were allowed, to communicate 
with him. His reply was, "Sir, I, per- 
sonally, would be glad to grant your re- 
quest; but I am sorry indeed I cannot, 
under my orders, do so. I am powerless." 
For a few moments he left the office. The 
lady who had been present during the 
interview was Colonel Brown's wife. 
Turning to me she said, ''Write your 
draft on your uncle; you shall have the 
money." I made the draft as she di- 
rected, and in due time received the 
money. This kind, noble lady, God bless 
her, gave me, as I left the office, a paper 
containing two large slices of bread, but- 
ter, and ham. I took them to my sick 
comrade, Billy Funk. I say again, God 
bless that noble woman! May the Grand 
Master who implanted the Christian heart 
in her breast give her a crown in that 
better world of love and peace. 

There were lots of good fellows in 
the 127th New York Volunteers. They 
had been often under fire, and could ap- 



152 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

predate the condition and feel for the 
prisoners of war. Often, when they 
where on duty about the prison some of 
them would put a loaf of bread or piece 
of meat on the end of their bayonets and 
dare any Rebel to take if off, always hold- 
ing their guns in such position that the 
meat or bread could be taken off by the 
prisoners. These men took this method 
of helping us and getting around the 
orders. They dare not openly disobey. 
There was one officer in this regiment 
who deserves well of every Fort Pulaski 
prisoner. He was Major Place, quarter- 
master of post. His kindness to the pris- 
oners will ever be remembered by us all 
of the Fort Pulaski detachment. On one 
occasion this kind-hearted fellow took a 
lot of his men fishing with seines in the 
Savannah River about the fort. At 
night, after their return. Major Place 
gave Capt. Ed Chambers, of Alabama, 
one of the prisoners, a barrel of the fish 
he and his men had caught during the 
day. ''These," he said, ''Captain Cham- 



153 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

bers, distribute to your sick men who 
cannot get about." At another time he 
gave Captain Chambers a half-barrel of 
damaged coffee, which had been con- 
demned by the quartermaster department, 
and would have been thrown out. Some 
spy about the fort reported this matter 
to Major-General Foster, commanding 
department; and investigation was made, 
but nothing resulted from it to Major 
Place. No doubt had General Foster's 
investigation proved the giving of the 
coffee to the prisoners, Major Place 
would have lost his commission for his 
humanity to starving men. God bless 
you, Major Place! May you prosper in 
this world, and the world to come, for 
your goodness and humanity to our starv- 
ing men. Yours was the true Christian 
charity the Master taught. 

These six hundred Confederate offi- 
cers — prisoners of war — who went 
through the fearful ordeal of fire and 
starvation were a noble body of men. 
There were a few scallawags in our num- 

154 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ber, which is always the case in large or 
small bodies of men; but it is a proud 
record to present to the world, that, not- 
withstanding the ordeal of fire, starva- 
tion, and disease, there were but seventeen 
of the six hundred who faltered and 
took the oath of allegiance to the United 
States Government, disgracing themselves, 
dishonoring their uniforms, leaving their 
comrades to suffer. What nation of the 
world can present a better record than 
this? And does it not prove the oft- 
repeated claim that the Confederate army 
was an army of heroes, whose hearts were 
as true and brave as ever beat in the 
breast of an Alexander, or a Ney? What 
could be said that would be flattery of the 
five hundred and eighty-three men who 
kept the faith throughout the terrible or- 
deal? No torture could wring from these 
men one whimper of pain, nor one regret 
that they had linked their fortunes with 
the cause of the South and followed her 
flag whither it led. These men were he- 
roes by nature's gift; they were Southern 



155 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

men by birth, noblemen whose right to 
nobility came from God. 

There is no place where the virtues 
and the vices, the true character of men, 
will so soon show itself, and so promi- 
nently, as it will when men are placed 
in the position as were these six hundred 
Confederate officers; the good or bad in 
a man's nature will rise to the surface 
like oil on water, do what he may to keep 
it down. And what a consolation it is 
to those who kept the faith, who now in 
the evening of life can recall that bitter 
past. They can tell it to their children 
without shame or regret, and thank God 
for the strength given them to bear the 
ordeal they were forced to undergo. Col. 
Abe Fulkerson, brave, generous, true, 
noble fellow, wrote me, just before his 
death: '^Murray, I always thank God, 
and I have never forgotten to do this, 
for His goodness and mercy in allowing 
me to be one of the Immortal Six Hun- 
dred who kept the faith unto the end." 
Shortly after receipt of this letter Colonel 



156 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Fulkerson was summoned to answer the 
roll call over the river. He is now resting 
under the trees in the camp of God's 
love. A braver or truer man never lived. 
Charles F. Crisp, Lieutentant 10th Va. 
Regt. Inf., was one of the six hundred. 
After the war closed he became speaker 
of the United States Congress. Lieut. 
J. E. Cobb, 5th Texas, also became a 
member of Congress. Capt. Bruce Gib- 
son, 6th Va. Cav., a true, generous soul, 
whose ministration to his sick comrades 
of the six hundred made him loved and 
honored — he, too, has gone to rest. I 
recall, as I sit and write, the dreadful 
sights of misery in that Fort Pulaski 
prison — loved comrades starving to 
death, dying with that terrible disease 
scurvy, and the great government of the 
United States responsible for all this 
wanton cruelty; and yet no effort was 
made to alleviate or curtail it. Who of 
the six hundred will ever forget grand old 
Capt. John Lucas Cantwell, N. C? 
Gentle, kind, true; never tiring of helping 

157 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

his sick comrades. Grand old hero, your 
name is engraved upon our hearts; we 
can bear testimony for you before the 
bar of God. Dear old Capt. Ed Cham- 
bers, have you passed to your reward? 
You carried out the command of the 
divine Master, ''love thy neighbor as 
thyself." Capt. Lewis Harman, 12th Va. 
Cav., generous with whatever he had. 
Lieut. Tom S. Doyle and Capt. J. L. 
Hempstead, doing all that men could do 
to better the condition of their sick com- 
rades. And Lieut. Peter B. Akers — 
dear old Pete, the soul of generosity, the 
most unselfish man I ever knew in all 
my life; never thinking of himself, al- 
ways doing for others. When it is God's 
pleasure to call dear old Pete over the 
line, I feel sure no crown in the kingdom 
of God's love will be brighter than that 
which will be given to P. B. Akers. All 
these dear old comrades were nature's 
noblemen; the leaven which God in His 
goodness gave to man, to lead him up to 
the higher life. As I gaze at the photo- 

158 




(HONORABLE) CAPTAIN W. H. KITCHENS 
NORTH CAROLINA 
(Ex-Member Congress) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

graphs that hang upon my room walls I 
see that one of dear comrade Le Broten, 
of Louisiana, gentle, kind, suffering with- 
out a murmur. A soldier of the Confed- 
eracy, he could die for principle; he would 
not surrender it. Then comes Capt. J. L. 
Hempstead, once during the war drill 
master of the 5th Va. Inft., Stonewall's 
Brigade; gentle as a woman, brave as a 
lion, a courtly knight of the old school, 
his heart went out in sympathy to his 
suffering comrades, his generous hand re- 
lieved their wants from his scanty ration. 
Captain Hempstead was born in Iowa, of 
Virginian parentage. When the war toc- 
sin sounded he gave up home, loved ones, 
and comfort to help in the defense of Vir- 
ginia's honor. Capt. Will Page Carter, 
Page's Battery, a lovable comrade, kind 
and generous, a dignified gentleman. 
*'We can suffer, men, for principle; we 
cannot surrender without dishonor," I 
heard him say to those comrades about 
him who were not able to leave their 
bunks. I wish it were possible for me to 



159 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

recall all the noble spirits of that Im- 
mortal Six Hundred. Their names are 
written on Fame's scroll. God knows 
them; the world will honor them. Many 
of those dear comrades have joined the 
silent army. Their memory shall always 
have the warmest spot in my heart; my 
prayer is for God's choicest blessings upon 
them all who were true unto the end of 
the inhuman ordeal of retaliation inflicted 
upon us by Stanton and Foster, backed 
by the United States Government. We 
who were true can speak of the com- 
radeship of love to each other. It was 
bom in suffering, cemented by the bru- 
tality of a civilized government controlled 
by brutes. Men, as a rule, when suffer- 
ing, become selfish; but this was not true 
of the majority of the six hundred. Of 
course, there were some selfish men in 
our number, but it can be truthfully said, 
take out from our number the seventeen 
scallawags who took the oath of alle- 
giance, surrendering their manhood, and 
there never was a grander lot of men 



160 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

brought together than the Immortal Six 
Himdred. The efforts of one prisoner to 
reHeve the other were subHme; it was 
grand. Captain Cantwell's conception of 
a prison aid society was a true index of 
the man's heart. Below is a copy of the 
intention of the society, its constitution 
and membership: 

Relief Association of Fort Pulaski, 1864. 

Confederate States Officers' Prison Barracks, 
Fort Pulaski, Ga., December 13, 1864. 

At a called meeting of the Confederate 
States officers confined in these quarters, held 
at the quarters of Major Jones, Col. A. Ful- 
kerson was called to the chair and Capt. Jno. 
L. Cantwell requested to act as secretary. At 
the request of the chairman, Capt. H. C. Dick- 
inson explained the objects of the meeting, to- 
wit, to be the formation of an association for 
the relief, etc., of the sick of our number, etc., 
and submitted the following preamble and 
constitution, which were, on motion, adopted: 

Whereas, It has been suggested that a 
number of our brother officers, confined with 
us as prisoners of war at Fort Pulaski, are 
deprived of some absolute necessaries of life. 



161 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

by reason of their inability to communicate 
with their homes and friends; and 

Whereas, Some of such officers, by rea- 
son of the diseases incident to prison Hfe, 
are exposed to much suffering and in danger 
of neglect if left to the care of individuals; 
and 

Whereas, We recognize the binding ob- 
ligation on us, as Confederate officers, to 
search for and relieve the distress of all 
worthy officers and soldiers of our common 
country; now the more effectually to carry 
out our purpose we, whose names are signed 
to this paper. 

Do HEREBY ORGANIZE "The Confederate 
Relief Association," adopt the following con- 
stitution and by-laws for our government, and 
pledge ourselves, as individuals, from time to 
time, when called on by the proper officers of 
the "Association," to aid in sustaining it to 
the extent of our ability. 

Constitution. 

First Article. The officers of the Con- 
federate Relief Association shall consist of 
a president, a vice-president, a treasurer, a 
secretary, and an executive committee of one 
man from each of the five divisions into which 
we are at present formed. Each of these of- 



162 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ficers shall be elected viva voce, and shall con- 
tinue in office till a change in our situation 
or condition renders a new election neces- 
sary. 

Second Article. It shall be the duty of 
the president to convene this Association when 
in his opinion it may be necessary. He shall 
preside at all the meetings, shall call on the 
Association for contributions to the treasurer, 
and shall detail, upon the suggestion of either 
member of the executive committee, nurses 
for the sick, and where practicable may com- 
mand the medical services of any member 
of the society who may have been a phy- 
sician. 

Third Article. The vice-president shall 
preside during the absence or sickness of the 
president and is charged with the duty of as- 
sisting the president, as far as necessary, in 
all his duties. 

Fourth Article. The secretary shall keep 
a record of all the proceedings, including a 
balance sheet of weekly receipts and expen- 
ditures, and shall countersign all orders for 
the expenditure of money. 

Fifth Article. The treasurer shall re- 
ceive and keep all moneys of the Association 
with an account of the same, and shall pay 
such moneys upon the orders of either mem- 



163 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ber of the executive committee countersigned 
by the secretary. 

Sixth Article. The executive committee 
shall be the active body of this Association, 
it being expected that they will search out 
all cases of sickness or suffering in this prison 
or any Confederate hospital connected with it, 
and report the same to the president; that they 
shall frequently meet on the call of the rank- 
ing officer of the committee to devise means 
for the aid and comfort of sick or suffering 
officers, and that when relief is necessary for 
any man in the division of either member of 
the said committee, he shall procure the same 
by a requisition upon the treasurer counter- 
signed by the secretary. 

The Association organized by electing 
the following officers: 

Col. A. Fulkerson, president; Major 
MacCreary, vice-president; Capt. H. C. Dick- 
inson, treasurer; Capt. J. L. Cant well, secre- 
tary; and Capt. J. G. Knox, Major Jones, Cap- 
tain Ake, Captain Campbell, and Major Zeig- 
ler, as members of the executive committee 
from Divisions No. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 respec- 
tively. 

On motion adjourned. 

John L. Cantwell, Secretary. 



164 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



A List of Members of Confederate Relief 
Association. 



A. Fulkerson 
H. C. Dickinson 
P. V. Batte 
M. R. Wilson 
S. P. Allensworth 
A. M. King 
Rodes Massie 
J. M. Burges 
H. E. Handerson 
W. J. Dumas 
T. H. Board 
John L. Cantwell 
John D. Ashton 
W. F. Leathers 
A. Dobyns 
J. W. A. Ford 
T. M. Hammack 
J. Ogden Murray 
F. Foussia 



M. G. Zeigler 
Wm. Barries 
D. A. Imes 
J. B. McCreary 
J. N. Chisholm 
R. L. Miller 
W. A. Martin 
John L. Lemon 
Jno. B. Fitzpatrick 
H. T. Coalter 
S. Lowe 
C. S. Lewis 
T. H. Harris 
G. C. Nast 
T. S. Doyle 
J. G. Brown 
Dr. F. Booton 
H. M. Dixon 



December 28th. 

The executive committee met and re- 
ported progress. The president reported col- 
lections made to amount of $1L00 and expen- 
ditures to amount of $11.00. The secretary 
was instructed to prepare an appeal to the 



165 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

prisoners for contributions to be placed in the 
Jhands of the executive committee. 
Adjourned. 

J. L. Cantwell, Secretary. 

Hilton Head, S. C, November 24, 1864. 
Capt. John L. Cantwell, 

Dear Sir: — Agreeable to promise, I em- 
brace this opportunity of writing you a few 
lines to inform you of our safe arrival at this 
place, all well. We arrived about seven 
o'clock the evening of the day we left Fort 
Pulaski. We are camped about one mile from 
the town, three in a tent — the same tents 
we lived in at Morris Island. Lieutenants 
Henderson, Merchant, and myself are together. 
Since we have been here we have had a very 
disagreeable time. The weather has been 
quite cold — we had ice last night and night 
before from a half to one inch thick. You 
would be amused to see our chimney which 
we have erected to our tent. The material 
is sand and grass. We had a fire in it last 
night for the first time, and made our tent 
comfortable, notwithstanding it smoked some. 
Built it higher this morning and hope it 
will draw better. No news of interest. Give 
my very best respects to Captains MacRae and 
Cowan, Lieutenants Gurganns, Henderson, and 
Childs and all enquiring friends. My address 



166 




CAPTAIN C. R. EZELL 
GEORGIA 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

is Hilton Head, S. C, 3d Division. Hoping 
this may reach you safe and find you in good 
health, I remain 

Yours very respectfully, 

George M. Crasson, 

Prisoner of War. 

This was one of the letters that came 
to Fort Pulaski from Hilton Head after 
part of our number had been sent to that 
place. 

The incidents of the Fort Pulaski 
prison are written from memory; many 
have been forgotten. One thing that of- 
ten impressed me was the heroic conduct 
of our men under the ordeal. Before 
taps, every night, some of our comrades 
would get together in one of the case- 
mates of the prison and sing the old fa- 
miliar songs of the South, seeming for 
the time to forget the pains of retaliation 
and their hunger. Some day I hope some 
of the noble six hundred will group to- 
gether the incidents as they come to them, 
and put them in shape for preservation — 
the amusing with the pathetic, for they 



167 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

are all worth the keeping, and help to tell 
the story of those brave and true men. 

One incident comes to me just now. 
One very cold day while standing by the 
cooking stove awaiting the building of the 
fire, I noticed a Georgia captain, of our 
party, picking from his ration of meal the 
lumps, bugs, and worms. I said, ''Cap- 
tain, why do you throw your corn meal 
away?" "I am not throwing it away." 
he replied, "I am picking out the bugs, 
worms, and filth." "Why, man," I said, 
"the bugs and worms are the meat in- 
tended for you, and will help to give 
taste to the meal." "That's so," he said, 
and quit the work. We had one or two 
opium eaters in our party, made so by the 
medicine furnished by order of General 
Foster. It was heartrending to see these 
poor, dear fellows begging for opium pills 
from the doctor, when sick call was 
made. It may have been wrong in me 
to do so, yet, when I saw their suffering 
for the drug, I would go to the doctor and 
get him to give me pills, which I would 



168 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

give to these grand men, made beasts 
by the cruelty of the United States Gov- 
ernment. One of the poor fellows died 
and was btiried — Lieutenant Fitzgerald, 
C. S. N. 

All matter personal to myself, so 
far as possible, has been left out of this 
history with the narration of the attempt 
of some of us to escape from Fort Pu- 
laski, and letters from comrades. The 
story of Hilton Head prison is told with 
this story of those who did escape. 

Christmas eve night, December 24, 
1864, was one of the coldest nights, I 
think, we had to endure while at Fort 
Pulaski prison. I was lying in my bunk, 
praying that God would let me go to 
sleep and never awake in life. Yes, I 
was begging God to let me die and end 
my torture. I was cold and hungry, no 
blanket to cover me, no fire to warm me. 
As I turned over in my bunk, to warm 
the side of my body exposed to the cold, 
one of the boards fell from the bunk, and 
I got out to replace it, that I might lie 



169 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

down. In fixing the board in its place, 
by the dim light of the prison lamp, I 
saw beneath my bunk a trap door. For a 
few moments I felt dazed and really be- 
lieved I was but dreaming. After a lit- 
tle while I gathered my wits, and this 
thought came to me: ''Providence has 
answered your prayer; through this door 
you can reach liberty." Little sleep came 
to me after this discovery. I laid all sorts 
of plans, only to brush them aside. At 
daylight I awoke my comrade, Dave 
Prewitt, of Kentucky, and communicated 
to him my discovery. I can, in my mind, 
recall the look of pity Prewitt gave me 
after he had heard my story. It was a 
look that plainly said, ''Poor Murray, 
he's gone; the cruelty was too much for 
him." But when he saw the door, like 
myself, he concluded Providence made it 
especially for our escape. We sat on the 
side of my bunk guarding our secret as 
though it was a gem. We made plans, we 
rejected them, and we finally concluded 
to find out the construction plan of the 



170 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

fort before we moved. Capt. Ed Cham- 
bers, of Alabama, one of our nimiber, had 
some experience in building forts. After 
pledging him to secrecy, we unfolded to 
him our find, and the first reply he made 
to our inquiry threw upon us hogsheads 
of cold water. "Why, boys," he said, 
*Hhis fort's foimdation is no doubt a lot 
of large blocks of granite which you could 
not cut through in forty years if you had 
all the improved tools necessary for the 
purpose. And yet, it may be," he added, 
"the foundation is built of hard brick, 
set in cement. The door under your bunk 
goes down into an air chamber built for 
the purpose of keeping these casemate 
floors dry. One chamber does not con- 
nect with the other by any opening. 
These chambers are fifteen or twenty 
feet square and are built all under this 
fort. If you boys go down you will find 
yourselves in ten feet of water and mud 
that has oozed in from the moat; so take 
my advice and give up the project. It 
will not work." When we finished this 



171 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

interview with Captain Chambers our 
hearts were way down below zero. For 
a few hours we brooded over the matter 
saying very little of it to each other. De- 
cember 25th, Prewitt and myself sat on 
the side of my bunk, talking of the good 
fat turkeys and luscious hams they were 
eating at his home in Kentucky, and how 
we would enjoy just the turkey bones, if 
we had them, when suddenly Prewitt 
turned to me and said, ''Ogden, let's try 
and get to where those ttirkeys and good 
things are; let's go down through that 
trapdoor and find a way out of this hole." 
It was all done in a moment. Down in 
that hole we went, up to our armpits in 
water and mud; and the coldest water I 
ever dropped into. We groped about in 
the dark, feeling our way around the wall, 
but could find no opening. We did, how- 
ever, find out that the foundation was 
brick, set in cement good and hard. Af- 
ter this discovery we found also that the 
wall at the water line was much wider 
than it was next to the floor. We got 



172 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

out by Prewitt getting on my shoulders 
and pulling himself out by the floor; then 
he pulled me out. Prewitt had two pair 
of pants, and part of an old blanket. He 
put on the pants and loaned me the 
blanket to keep me from freezing while 
my pants dried. I do positively believe I 
had to tell my comrades six million lies 
about how I fell down in one of the cis- 
terns that some one left open. We gave 
Captain Chambers full details of our ex- 
ploration below, but his advice was to 
stop our foolishness before we took cold 
and died. While talking to Chambers, he 
said: "If you had a good hard saw to 
cut out the cement, and a bar to pry out 
the bricks you might, in months of hard 
work, cut from one air chamber to the 
other imtil you cut outside of the guard 
line, — but this was doubtful." Well, this 
settled it, and we determined to cut that 
wall. We got hold of an eighteen-inch 
stove poker; Prewitt had an old dinner 
knife of which we made a saw; Billy 
Fimk agreed to watch for the coming of 



173 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the guard or officer of the day, and that 
night, December 25, 1864, we began what 
seemed to be a hopeless task. After taps, 
every night for a week. Lieutenant Funk 
would take up his position on my bunk, 
and if anything moved he notified us by 
knocking on the floor with his heels. We 
would then stop work until he gave the 
signal all was well. We worked on for 
one week, getting out but few bricks. We 
finally concluded to take into our confi- 
dence some help, so we organized a work- 
ing party of Capt. W. W. Griffin, 1st Mary- 
land Battery, C. S. A.; Captain Kent, 
Georgia; Lieutenant W. H. Chew, Georgia; 
Lieut. Hugh Dunlap, Tennessee; Lieut. W. 
W, George, Virginia; and Capt. Ed Cham- 
bers, Alabama, with Prewitt and myself. 
One night a fellow named Gillispie caught 
Prewitt coming out of the trapdoor, so we 
took him in with us to keep him quiet. 
Every night we would go down in pairs to 
work on the wall. Our only tools were the 
case knife, made into a saw, and the eigh- 
teen-inch fire poker. We worked waist- 



174 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

deep in water from the 25th of Decem- 
ber, 1864, to February 28, 1865. We 
never missed one night, and our efforts 
were finally rewarded. We had cut 
through forty-two brick walls that were 
eight feet thick, making a cut through 
just 336 feet of solid brick walls, with 
that old case knife and poker. At last we 
were done and fixed upon the night of 
February 28, 1865 (which was Saturday 
night), to say good bye to our Yankee 
captors. So silently had we worked, so 
guarded was our secret, that not one of 
the prisoners outside of Lieut. Billy 
Funk knew we were at work on the tun- 
nel of escape. By saving an ounce or 
two of com meal each day, from our 
rations, we had considerable pone to sus- 
tain us until we could cross over the 
Savannah River and find friends from 
whom we could obtain food. At 11 p. 
m., February 28, 1865, we began our 
exit. Captain Griffin was the first man 
below. Lieutenant Chew followed, then 
Captain Kent, then Dunlap, Gillispie, 



175 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Prewitt, then myself. When we had all 
gotten below, Captain Chambers could 
not, he said, get through the trap door, 
so we left him. Poor Lieut. Billy Funk 
cried and pleaded to be taken with us, 
but the poor fellow was imable to get out 
of the bunk, practically dead with scurvy. 
We chose the night of February 28th to 
make the move to escape, first, because 
the tunnel in the walls was finished; sec- 
ond, because General Mollineux, 157th 
N. Y. Vols., came this night with his com- 
mand, to relieve the 127th New York 
and, in the confusion of transfer, we 
thought our chances would be better for 
success. The night was dark, and a driz- 
zling rain was falling. All went well with 
us through the tunnel until we reached the 
trapdoor in the casemate at the end of 
our tunnel, which we were to ascend 
through to the casemate above. When 
we attempted to remove the door we 
found, to our consternation, that it was 
weighted down by some very heavy 
weight. It was a dilemma we had not 



176 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

cotinted on. We knew we cotdd not cut 
through another wall by daylight, so we 
concluded to force up that door at all 
risks. Four or five of us got under it, 
pushing with our hands and heads until 
Dave Prewitt could get the poker under 
the edge of the door. When he pried 
down on the poker he started the heavy 
body on the door to moving. Well, I 
have heard the artillery of Jackson in 
the Valley; I heard the roar of the guns 
at Gettysburg; I have heard the heavenly 
thunders of the Rocky Mountains; but I 
say to you, all these sounds combined were 
but pop-gun reports when compared to 
the noise those barrels made above our 
heads rolling over the casemate floor; and 
yet, strange as it may be, the noise did 
not disturb the slumbers of a whole com- 
pany of the 157th New York Volunteers, 
asleep in the very next casemate. After 
waiting for a time, to hear if the noise 
alarmed the sentinels about the fort, we 
began to ask each other, ''Shall we go 
back or go on?" (We could not see each 



177 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

other^s faces in the darkness, yet I feel 
confident they would have been a study 
for an artist's pencil.) The question was 
put to vote — majority said, "Let's go 
on." Hearing no one moving above, we 
pushed up the trapdoor and began the 
ascent to the casemate above. Lieut. W. 
H. Chew, of Georgia, being the smallest 
man in our party, we raised him upon our 
shoulders to the floor. He, with the help 
of our rope, made of old pieces of cloth- 
ing, blankets, and such material as we 
coiild from time to time get, pulled us 
up one by one. When we had all reached 
the casemate we had no trouble in getting 
out of the casemate window. Groping 
about the casemate in the darkness, we 
found an old army blanket. This, cut 
into strips, materially strengthened our 
rope. All being ready, we threw out 
our rope and began our exit from the 
fort porthole. I was delegated to remain 
and get rid of the rope. While the others 
were going down the rope I found an 
open barrel of brown sugar, ate bounti- 

178 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

fully of it, and filled my coat and pants 
pockets. I forgot, in my hungry greed- 
iness, that I would be compelled to swim 
through the waters of the moat to reach 
the bank. When Gillispie, the last man 
to leave the fort before me, slid down 
the rope into the water he made as much 
noise as a whale, and I believe now he 
was then doing his best to attract the at- 
tention of the sentinel. I saw him finally 
go over the moat bank. I then followed 
down the rope, landed safely in the water, 
and had reached the moat bank when, 
just as I started to climb up the bank, the 
midnight relief came in sight. I was 
compelled to roll back into the water 
and remain until the guard passed on. 
After getting over the bank into the 
swamp I found the boys awaiting my com- 
ing. But I want to relate that the moat 
water dissolved all my sugar and left 
me in a sticky condition. I had tugged 
at the rope, but could not get it to budge, 
so left it hanging out of the casemate 
window. As the night was dark and 



179 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

rainy the guards did not see it as they 
passed. 

Now that we were in the swamp, 
free from the prison, the problem pre- 
sented itself, how to get a boat to leave 
the island. Then came the question, who 
should go forward and overpower the 
sentinel over the boats at the wharf, 
where they were kept moored, constantly 
guarded. Lieutenant Chew suggested 
that we draw cattails. This was adopt- 
ed. Chew held the cuts, and the choice 
fell on Gillispie. He at once objected 
to going, on the ground that a smaller 
man could get through the swamp bet_ 
ter than he. Not having time to discuss 
the philosophy of his objection, Prewitt 
said, "Come on, Murray, you and I 
will go ahead." Off we started, Prewitt 
in the lead, I next and Captain Kent, of 
Georgia, close behind me, with Captain 
Griffin, Chew, and others following in 
our wake, some fifty feet behind, so as 
not to attract the sentinel. We came in 
sight of the wharf; against the horizon 



180 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

we cotdd see the sentinel walking his 
beat. We stopped to arrange a plan of 
attack upon him. Prewitt was to move 
down on the right of the boats, I on the 
left, and Kent, direct from the point we 
halted. We started; everything was go- 
ing nicely, and in a very few minutes we 
would have had the sentinel, and the boats 
would have been ours. We were slowly 
getting nearer and nearer to the bridge 
upon which the sentinel walked, which 
was built upon piles about two feet above 
the water. Just as we were ready for the 
final move, out on the night air rang the 
voice of Gillispie, howling, *' don't shoot I 
don't shoot!" This, of course, alarmed 
the sentinel on the bridge; he fired his 
gim and called lustily for the sergeant 
of the guard; the fort was alarmed, the 
guards turned out, and our Hberty was 
gone. In a few moments more we would 
have been sailing across the mouth of the 
Savannah River, free men, had not Gil- 
lispie howled out like a wolf. 

Prewitt and myself pulled ourselves. 



181 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

under the bridge, and Kent was taken 
in by the guard, who came flocking to 
the relief of the sentinel at the boat wharf. 
All were captured but Prewitt and my- 
self. We remained in the water under 
the bridge, and were not recaptured un- 
til daylight. The whole garrison of the 
fort was under arms; there was no pos- 
sible way for us now to escape. 

While we laid under the bridge we 
could hear the sentinel telling the ser- 
geant, ''Why, I could have killed those 
fellows. I saw one on my right and one 
on my left, in the swamp, but thought 
they were alligators." Poor old fellow, 
whoever you were, on guard that night, 
walking your beat, you did not dream that 
there were three Rebels creeping towards 
you, determined on your capture. They 
were determined upon gaining their lib- 
erty. You stood between them and 
home. 

When we were taken into the fort 
this man Gillispie took the oath of alle- 
giance. Chew, Griffin, Kent, Dunlap, 



182 




LIEUTENANT J. P. KELLEY 
VIRGINIA 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Prewitt, and myself were put in a dark 
cell; no dry clothing given us, and no 
fire allowed us, nor would Captain Sex- 
ton, the provost-marshal, allow us to have 
fire to dry our wet clothing. 

Why Gillispie betrayed us has always 
been a mystery to me. He worked just 
as hard as any one of our party to cut 
the tunnel through the walls, and ate 
his com meal and pickle with us. I can 
only account for his conduct on the 
ground that when it came to killing the 
sentinel over the boats he thought, if the 
escape failed, we would all be shot; and 
this broke his nerve and made him shout 
as he did. Afterward, shame of his con- 
duct made him take the oath, that he 
would not be put in the cell with us. I 
never liked Gillispie. He was at heart 
a coward. I heard Lieut. Hugh Dunlap, 
of Tennessee, one of the most generous 
and kind men of our party, in a very 
gentle manner correct some statement 
Gillispie made about the Western " army. 
Gillispie persisted in his statement. Lieu- 



183 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

tenant Dunlap arose from my bunk, where 
he was sitting, walked over to the fellow, 
shook his fist in his face, and said, *'Gil- 
lispie, you are a liar, and you knowingly 
utter your slander." Gillispie dared not 
resent this, and I never liked him after 
the incident. Some years ago I heard 
GilHspie was aUve and lived in Texas. 
If he be dead or alive I do not care; in 
his going or coming I have no concern. 
I do know he betrayed us and increased 
our sufferings. If he can hide his 
treachery from the world, he cannot hide 
it from his God. His sin will find him 
out. 

We were recaptured March 1, 1865, 
and we remained in the dark cell, without 
fire or dry clothing, until the 4th day of 
March, when we were started on our way 
back to Fort Delaware. 

While we were confined in the dark 
cell we had a good deal of fun with Cap- 
tain Sexton, the provost-marshal. He 
had a lot of balls with chains brought up 
to the cell door, rattling them around, and 



184 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

saying in a loud tone of voice, "I guess 
these will keep those Rebels from cutting 
walls. Sentinel, if you hear the least 
movement on the part of those fellows 
to break out of that cell, shoot them, and 
shoot to kill." He would come into our 
cell three and four times during the days 
we were confined, and volunteer the in- 
formation that our case had been tele- 
graphed to Washington City for advice; 
that in a few days we would all be tried 
and shot for destroying government prop- 
erty. He was always full of just such 
stuff as this. We would poke fun at him, 
telling him to hurry up the shooting. The 
day before we were put on the steamer 
to be sent back to Fort Delaware this 
man Sexton came into our cell and of- 
fered, if we would tell him who cut the 
walls first, who organized the party and 
plan to escape, he would let us go back 
into the regular prison and give us dry 
clothing. We told him if he would go 
and bring us in a good drink of whisky 
for each man, as we would not try the 



185 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

same plan again, we would tell him all 
about it. To our surprise, he brought in 
the whisky. We told him all about the 
scheme and plan, but he did not give us 
the dry clothing nor put us back in the 
regular prison. The irons that had been 
put on Prewitt and myself were taken 
off our hands and legs. 

Early on the morning of March 4, 
1865, Captain Sexton, with a guard, 
came to our cell, opened the door, and 
ordered us to fall into line. We marched 
down to the fort wharf, where we found 
the small steamer "Ashland" with the 
other prisoners (our comrades) on board. 
We were placed in the forward part of 
the vship's deck, and I heard Sexton tell 
the captain of the guard, *'I hardly think 
it necessary to iron these fellows. They 
won't jimip overboard, but they need 
close watching." Late in the afternoon, 
on March 4th, we steamed away from 
Fort Pulaski for Hilton Head, S. C. Af- 
ter some delay and protest by the officers 
of the guard (157th New York Volun- 



186 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

teers) to going to sea in such a small 
steamer as the *' Ashland/' overcrowded, 
we were transferred to the large ocean 
steamer "Illinois,'' and put out to sea. 
** Grape" was rife amongst the prisoners. 
The Yankees said we were to be ex- 
changed at Fortress Monroe, and sent 
from there up the river to Richmond. I 
do not think our fellows took any stock 
in the "grape" of exchange. Most of 
them were in such physical condition that 
they did not care what became of them. 

On the sail back to Fort Delaware 
the officers and men of the 157th New 
York Volunteers gave us all the liberty 
of the ship we wanted; allowed us on 
deck, and to have staterooms if we could 
pay for them; and gave us good rations. 
They were soldiers, not brutes like Stan- 
ton and Foster. These men had been in 
the field. After a sail of several days we 
anchored in the harbor of Norfolk. Here 
Captains Leon Jestremeska, of Louisiana, 
and Du Preist, of Virginia, made their 
escape, account of which will be found 



187 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

in this work. While we lay in the James 
River the Norfolk people learned of it. 
They flocked down on the wharf, wav- 
ing handkerchiefs and cheering us. While 
we were in Norfolk Harbor one of the 
officers of the 157th New York Volun- 
teers told us we would not be exchanged. 
"Just what is to be done with you I do 
not know," he said, "but I do not think 
you will be exchanged. You may all be 
placed in the hospital." 

Later on, another one of the 157th 
New York officers said, positively, we 
were to be exchanged and would be home 
in a day or two. Believing this story to 
be true, I really did not think it worth 
while to escape from the boat, and Prewitt 
and myself abandoned a plan we had 
made to leave the ship. 

After laying in the harbor for some 
time, our ship steamed out to sea. No- 
body was allowed on deck; all must go 
below and stay there. This order was 
strictly enforced by the guard until we 
were well out at sea. 



188 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

It soon became the general belief 
amongst the prisoners that we were go- 
ing back to com meal and pickle retalia- 
tion on Morris Island. Lieutenant 
Maury, one of our number, an old naval 
officer and familiar with the ocean, gave 
it as his opinion, from what he could see 
of the stars, that the ship was steaming 
south. This helped to confirm our be- 
lief that we were not done with the re- 
taliation measures of Stanton. The 
anxiety and suspense became so intense 
amongst the prisoners that Col. Van 
Manning called the captain in charge of 
our guard and asked him to tell him 
candidly where we were going. The cap- 
tain said very frankly that General Lee 
had begun an attack on Fort Steadman, 
in General Grant's front, the morning of 
our arrival at Fortress Monroe, and he 
(the captain of the guard) had orders to 
deliver us at Fort Delaware; that no 
more exchange of prisoners would be 
made. 

It was the most dejected and broken 



189 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

lot of men on earth when this news came 
to us, yet we said one to the other, 
**Fort Delaware is far better than Fort 
Pulaski and its com-meal-and-pickle 
ration." At night we pulled out of Nor- 
folk Harbor; on the morning of the fol- 
lowing day we were landed on the wharf 
of Fort Delaware, and turned again into 
the old prison pen from which we had 
been taken eight months before. On the 
voyage from Fortress Monroe to Fort 
Delaware two of our number died and 
were buried in the ocean, — dumped over- 
board, their bodies sewed in canvas bags. 
These poor fellows could have been kept 
until we landed, as we were but an hour 
or two's sail from Fort Delaware. 

We had not been in our old quarters 
one moment before we were compelled to 
relate to our comrades the story of our 
hardships and the inhuman cruelty in- 
flicted upon us at Morris Island and the 
other points of our imprisonment. Our 
comrades at Fort Delaware had greatly 
increased in numbers during our absence; 



190 




CAPTAIN F. W. KELLY 
VIRGINIA 



(Merchant, retired) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

they all seemed to be in good health, and 
had good clothes, which made the con- 
trast between our haggard, ragged, ema- 
ciated crowd very perceptible. Our com- 
rades brought out their stores of pro- 
visions and extra clothing, giving us 
freely all they could spare. What a grand 
chance the United States Sanitary Com- 
mission missed in not having a photo- 
graph made of the survivors of Secretary 
Stanton's brutality. What a grand con- 
trast our photo would have made with 
those photos alleged to have been made 
at Andersonville and other Southern 
prisons after the surrender. It is a pity, 
indeed, those loyal souls who were ever 
anxious to stir the Northern heart did 
not have taken, for distribution in the 
North, our photos. Our condition would 
have brought the blush of shame to every 
Northern cheek, and made even Edwin 
M. Stanton turn pale at the sight of the 
victims of his brutaUty. We enjoyed the 
limited freedom of Fort Delaware. We 
were away from Colonel Hallowell and 



191 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

his nigger guards; free now from their 
insolence. The prison Hfe at Fort Dela- 
ware was broken in numerous ways by 
the diversity of the *'law schools," 
"medical schools,'* and "divinity 
schools." Lieut. George W. Finley, now 
the reverend and eloquent D. D. of 
the Presbyterian Church of Virginia, 
began his study for the ministry in the 
prison of Fort Delaware, under Rev. Dr. 
Handy. 

There were in our prison gamblers, 
barbers, tailors, laundrymen, workers in 
rubber, and a minstrel troop, which gave 
performances in the mess hall of the 
prison when the commandant gave the 
permission. The proceeds from these 
shows went to relieve our sick comrades 
in the prison hospital. Sutler's checks 
was the currency of the prison, and these 
checks were taken at the mess house door 
for admission to the show. General 
Schoepf and his staff often attended these 
shows. Peter B. Akers as the tambourine, 
and J. Ogden Murray as bones, were the 



192 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

star performers of the show, with Capt. 
Ed Chambers as the manager. 

Now spring had come and the fatal 
9th day of April had brought to us the 
news of the surrender of Gen. Robert E. 
Lee, at Appomattox. President Lincoln 
was assassinated. The end had come, and 
we were men without a country — sol- 
diers without a flag. We were broken 
indeed. Some days after General Lee's 
surrender the authorities at Washington 
ordered General Schoepf to ascertain 
how many of the prisoners at Fort Dela- 
ware prison would take the oath of alle- 
giance to the United States Government. 
On first roll call about seven hundred 
of the fifteen hundred officers — prison- 
ers of war — gave their assent to ** swal- 
low the yaller dorg" as we called taking 
the oath. We who refused to take the 
oath held an indignation meeting, pro- 
testing against the insult offered us by 
asking us to take the oath. Col. Van 
Manning, Maj. P. J. Otey, Colonel Fel- 
lows, and others spoke at this meeting 



193 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

against our comrades taking the oath, 
but it did no good in stemming the de- 
sire of our men to get home. They were 
worn out by prison cruelty, and General 
Lee had no army. The men pined for 
home and liberty. In a few days the 
roll was again called. At this call but 
two hundred of us were left who refused 
to take the oath, and at the third call 
there were but three of us left, out of the 
whole number, who declined to take the 
oath upon any condition. Shortly after 
these roll calls Gen. Joseph E. Johnston 
surrendered his army. The Confederacy 
had now but Gen. Dick Taylor's army 
in the field, and he at last surrendered. 
About July 25, 1865, most of the pris- 
oners except the three who declined to 
take the oath, and the field officer prison- 
ers, were released and sent to their homes 
in the different States of the South. 
Finally all were released and sent home. 
We left sleeping in death at Fort 
Delaware some grand men, — ^murdered 
by the cruelty of prison life. Those who 

194 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

lived through the ordeal returned to their 
homes to find them in ruins. Desolation 
had spread its black wings over our be- 
loved South. The blue uniform of the 
Yankee soldier was to be seen every- 
where. Yet, at the sight of all this ruin 
and desolation, the men who followed 
Lee did not falter. They went to work 
to rebuild, upon the ruins of the old, new 
homes. They soon convinced the world 
that they were as good builders as they 
were fighters. The same old courage, 
obedience, and fortitude that made them 
the ideal soldiers of the world came to 
their aid. From the wreck and the ruin 
of war was built the Southland of to- 
day; and built upon the only capital the 
Confederate soldier had after the war 
was done — ^his honor and courage. In- 
deed was our land the land described 
by the poet priest of the South in his 
beautiful poem: 

Yes, give me the land that the battle's red 

blast 
Has flashed to the future the fame of the past. 

195 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Yes, give me the land that hath legend and 

lay- 
That tells of the memories of long vanished 

days; 

Yes, give me the land that hath story and song, 
Enshrining the strife of the right with the 

wrong. 
Yes, give me the land with a grave in each 

spot, 
And names in the graves that shall not be 

forgot, 

And the graves of the dead with the grass 

overgrown 
Will yet be the footstool in Hberty's throne. 

Morristown, Tenn., April 25, 1898. 

My Dear Old Murray: — Your letter 
came to me safely, am delighted to hear from 
you again, and pleased beyond measure that 
you are getting ready to put in print the story 
of the Immortal Six Hundred. I cannot, in 
my condition, help you much with the work. 
You know all the details of the trip much bet- 
ter than I. As you say, the story can only be 
told from a personal experience of that which 
came under your observation. Write, Ogden, 
as you know it. If the story is not full in 
all details it will convey to the world an idea 



196 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

of the wanton cruelty inflicted upon us in 
that stockade pen on Morris Island, while un- 
der the fire of our own guns, and while we 
were on those starvation rations following our 
removal from Morris Island to Fort Pulaski 
and Hilton Head. I will aid you all I can. 

How I would love to see you, dear old 
Murray. You were always bright, never fal- 
tering, never bemoaning that the fates had 
cast us into that hell on earth. As I write 
I am wondering if time has made much change 
in you. Have the fates dealt out to you much 
sorrow, or given you much pleasure? You 
deserve well of the fates, and the love of 
your comrades of the Six Hundred. Generous, 
dear old fellow, come and see me here on 
the old farm (I call it the Rabbit Patch), 
come, that we may once more meet, that I can 
shake your hand and tell you my love for you 
has not grown less. 

I can see you, dear old fellow, sitting 
on that stage in the mess hall at Fort Dela- 
ware. I can hear your voice as you sing 
"The Little Groceryman;" I see you dancing 
and singing "Old Bob Ridley," to help your 
sick comrades in the prison hospital. 

My physical condition is not much, but 
my heart is as true, and my love as intense 
as ever for each one of that dear old Six 



m 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Hundred who kept the faith unto the end, as 
they did in those days of com meal and pickle 
rations. We can never forget the dog meat, 
the cat and rat meat — the luxury of our starv. 
ing men. Print, in large black letters, the 
names of those fellows who took the oath. 
They made this roll of dishonor themselves; 
they elected to wear the badge of dishonor; 
why should we shield them now? 

Your letters are always welcome. They 
bring me sunshine. I have written my broth- 
er, Maj. Albert Akers, who lives in Washing- 
ton City, to hunt you up and meet you when 
he goes to Winchester. God bless you and 
bless yours. May He, in His mercy, permit 
us to meet once more on this side of the 
picket line of life. 

Affectionately your comrade, 

P. B. Akers. 



198 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



CHAPTER FOUR 

Hilton Head Prison. 

ON the 27th day of October, 1864, when we 
had been but a few days at Fort Pulaski 
prison. Gen. J. G. Foster, commanding 
Department of the South, headquarters 
at Hilton Head, S. C., sent an order to send him two 
hundred of the prisoners of war confined at Fort 
Pulaski, Ga., this being necessary, said the surgeon's 
report of the fort, to preserve our health and better 
our condition. 

On the afternoon of October 21, 1864, two hun- 
dred and twenty of the six hundred were picked out 
of the number at Fort Pulaski, put on board of the 
steamer "Cannonicus," under guard of the 144th 
New York Volunteers, and sailed away to be the 
special guests of Gen. J. G. Foster, U. S. A., com- 
manding Department of the South. We were his 
guests for torture. He was the modem Nero, we 
his victims. We reached Hilton Head on Saturday 
afternoon and remained on the steamer until Sunday 
morning, when we were unloaded on the wharf, at 
Hilton Head, and marched under guard to a camp a 
mile in rear of Hilton Head village. The same old 
A-tents we used on Morris Island had been put up 
for our shelter. The first night in camp was very 
uncomfortable. The air was cold and crisp, we were 
not allowed fire, many of us were without blankets 



199 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

and had very light clothing, our beds was the bare 
sand, our discomforts more than tongue can tell. 
Monday morning came clear and cold. To keep 
ourselves warm we ran and jumped about inside of 
the dead line. We made no complaints. It was 
useless to complain to Nero Foster. With stolid 
indifference we took whatever came. We remained 
one week in this camp, suffering from cold and hun- 
ger. At the end of the week we were removed from 
the canvas city into a large log building in the town 
of Hilton Head. This log house was built and used 
by the United States Government as a military 
prison for the Department of the South, to confine 
the white and negro Yankee deserters, oath- takers, 
murderers, thieves, and all the camp-following 
villains of the United States army. 

The rations for the first week of our sojourn at 
Hilton Head were first class. But after that week 
it was followed by the delicious, the palatable, and 
strength destroying ration of ten ounces of rotten 
corn meal and one-half pint of cucumber and onion 
pickle, without salt or grease of any kind — all we got 
was rotten com meal and pickle. It now began to 
dawn upon our minds that we were, sure enough, 
General Foster's victims. After ten days on the 
corn meal diet, our condition was horrible. Col. 
Van Manning made a personal protest, against this 
cruelty and rations, to Colonel Gurney, the provost- 
marshal in charge of our prison, and made a written 



200 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

protest to General Foster; but the ration of corn 
meal was not changed, nor the cruelty of Foster in 
the least abated. If the Confederate Government 
had been feeding prisoners of war in their prisons a 
corn meal and pickle diet there would have been no 
complaint from us. We knew our government was 
feeding Federal prisoners better rations than corn 
meal and acid pickle. We knew all prisoners of war 
in Confederate prisons were getting the same ration 
as the Confederate soldiers in the field received. It 
is a great pity that those artists of the North, who 
from their fertile brains created the pictures of the 
woe and suffering of the Yankee prisoners of war in 
the prisons of the South, let our Hilton Head prison 
escape their lurid pencils. What grand subjects of 
suffering they could have drawn from our condition 
in that prison. Yea, they would have found much 
to depict to their readers in the North, and much, 
indeed, to make them hide their heads in shame at 
the slanders they wrote against the South and our 
people. To misstate the facts, to slander the South, 
and villify President Davis, seemed to be, during 
the war of 1861-65, the only mission of the Yankee 
artist. It fired the Northern heart; it brought new 
recruits to the army of coercion. Those correspond- 
ents and artists did their work well. It was cruel 
work, but it brought them the blood money. What 
cared they for the truth? It would not pay them to 
tell it. 



201 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

It was a brutal mind that conceived the com 
meal and pickle diet. It was the brutal hand of 
Foster that executed it upon helpless prisoners of 
war. On this diet of corn meal, with no meat or 
vegetables, scurvy soon came to add to our suffering, 
and acute dysentery was prevalent among our men. 
It took stout hearts to bear the burden put upon us. 
Many of our number physically gave way under the 
cruelty, but, in spite of it all, our men bore it with 
dignity and courage. 

We expected no favors — we asked none — of a 
government so cruel as was the United States Govern- 
ment in 1861-65. The pangs of starvation became 
terrible; hunger drove our men to catching and 
eating dogs, cats, and rats. It was dainty food to 
starving men. 

When history records the true story of the great 
conflict of 1861-65, I wonder what the verdict of 
those who will read of the wanton cruelty of the 
United States Government — inflicted upon its pris- 
oners of war — will be. It was cowardly, it was cruel , 
it was brutal, and unjust before God and man. The 
official records show that Gen. J. G. Foster, U. S. A., 
commanding Department of the South was the 
executioner for Secretary Stanton's cruel orders of 
retaliation, and these same records do not, and dare 
not, publish the corn-meal ration order. During 
those days of our torture a petition from the citizens 
of Indiana was presented in the United States Con- 



202 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

gress, by Senator Lane, asking the United States 
Government to retaliate upon all Confederate pris- 
oners of war in the Federal prisons of the North; 
for the reason, the petition set forth, that the Con- 
federate Government was inhumanely treating 
Federal prisoners of war confined in Southern 
prisons. This whole petition recited a bold, broad 
lie; a mean, deliberate, malicious slander on the 
brave people and government of the South. It was 
then a well-known fact, and at this day proven be- 
yond question,that the Confederate Government was 
willing and anxious to exchange prisoners of war, 
but the powers at Washington, and General U. S. 
Grant, refused to make exchange, and rejected all 
offers for exchange made to them by the Confed- 
erate authorities. In fact, the United States 
authorities even refused to send transports and get 
their sick and wounded men — prisoners of war — 
that our government offered them at any time they 
would send transports. It further can be said, 
without fear of contradiction, that, at the time this 
petition for retaliation was before the United States 
Senate, President Lincoln and all his officials had 
full knowledge that the Confederate Government was 
feeding to its prisoners of war the same rations the 
Confederate soldier received in the field. What 
more could our government do? What more could 
be demanded of them? 

The late Senator Sumner offered a substitute 



203 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

for the Lane resolution of retaliation, which can be 
found in the United States Senate Reports, 1864- 
65. It reads: 

"Be it resolved, That the treatment of our 
"officers and soldiers in Rebel prisons is cruel, 
"savage, and heartrending beyond all precedent; 
"that it is shocking to morals; that it is an ofifence 
"against human nature itself; that it adds new guilt 
"to the great crime of rebellion, and constitutes an 
"example from which history will turn with sorrow 
"and digust. 

"Resolved, That any attempted imitation of 
"Rebel barbarism in the treatment of prisoners of 
"war would be plainly impracticable on account of 
"its inconsistency with the prevailing sentiment of 
"humanity amongst us; that it would be injurious 
"at home, for it would barbarize the whole com- 
"munity; that it would be utterly useless, for it 
"would not affect the cruel authors of the revolting 
"conduct which we are asked to overcome; that it 
"would be immoral, because it would proceed from 
"vengeance alone; that it cotdd have no other re- 
" suit than to degrade the national character and the 
"national name, and to bring down upon our country 
"the reprobation of history. And being thus im- 
" practicable, useless, immoral, and degrading, it 
"must be rejected as a measure of retaliation, pre- 
"cisely as the barbarism of roasting and eating 



204 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

"prisoners of war is always objected to by civilized 
"powers. 

"Resolved, That the United States, filled with 
"deepest grief and sorrow for her cherished citizens 
"who, as officers and soldiers, have become the 
"victims of heaven-defying outragers, hereby de- 
"clare their solemn determination to put an end to 
"rebellion, of which it is natural fruit; that to 
"secure this end they pledge anew the best energies 
"and all the resources of the whole people, and they 
"call upon all to bear witness that they renounce all 
"vengeance and every evil example, and plant them- 
" selves on the sacred landmarks of Christian civiliza- 
"tion under that God who is ever present with every 
" prisoner, and enables heroic souls to suffer for their 
"country." 

Of all the hypocritical utterances, this is the 
worst. Certainly Mr. Senator Sumner knew that at 
the very moment he was denouncing retaliation 
against the Confederate Government, his own 
government was torturing, by starvation and wanton 
cruelty, at Hilton Head, S. C, and at Fort Pulaski, 
Ga., six hundred Confederate officers, prisoners of 
war. 

The laws of all nations say that prisoners of 
war shall, and must, be treated fairly and humanely, 
and with strict justice. No earthly power can 
change this. It is the law of God, and the human 
power that violates this law is guilty of murder. 



205 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

No excuse can be given by the apologists for 
Mr. Stanton, who ordered the inhuman treatment 
inflicted upon the Immortal Six Hundred Con- 
federate prisoners of war on Morris Island, at Fort 
Pulaski, and Hilton Head. The law of God was 
defied; the law of nations violated. History will 
judge the officials guilty of the crime, and the Con- 
federate prisoners of war, murdered by the cruelty 
of Stanton and Foster, will be the witnesses before 
the bar of God to condemn them. From the verdict 
of heaven there can be no appeal. 

The following order was posted in our prison : 

Provost-Marshall's Office, 
Hilton Head, S. C, February 7, 1865. 

General: — The major-general commanding the 
Department of the South directs me to inform you 
that the rations of the prisoners of war held in your 
department for retaliation (here was interlined some 
hieroglyphics) have been increased by four ounces 
of meat per diem and the addition of four ounces of 
potatoes. You will please give the necessary in- 
struction to the officer in charge of the Rebel 
prisoners here, and in custody at Fort Pulaski, Ga. 
I am very respectfully 

Your obedient servant, 

Wm. Gurney, 
Provost-Marshall-General, 
Lieut.-Col. 127th N. Y. Vols. 



206 




CAPTAIN D. B. COULTER 
ARKANSAS 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

This order brought joy to our hearts. We were 
starving. Four ounces of meat and four ounces of 
potatoes to be added to our com meal diet! It 
would save us from death. We had been reduced by 
the corn meal until a majority of our number had a 
very slim hold on life. It gave us all new hope, in 
fact, a new lease on life. During all our bad treat- 
ment I never heard one of the six hundred who re- 
mained true to the end utter one complaint against 
the Richmond government. We all knew it was 
doing its best to make the Yankees treat us fairly 
and humanely. 

After our arrival at Hilton Head, as I stated 
before, our camp was near that of the 144th New 
York Volunteers (our guard). We were hardly 
located before Captains Tom Perkins and Camp- 
bell, with Colonel Folk, of North Carolina, and 
Lieutenants KiUmartin, Brinkly, and John Casson 
organized a party and began digging a tunnel in 
their tent to enable them to get outside of the guard 
line and escape. They worked day and night on the 
tunnel, and in two days they would have completed 
it; but the camp was moved into the barracks at 
Hilton Head, and their efforts came to naught. 

Capt. Tom Perkins was one of the most daring 
brave men I ever knew. He would take the most 
desperate chance to get away of any man in the 
prison. He was the most determined of men, yet 
to his comrades he was as gentle as a woman. He 



207 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

was a man positively without fear, and the men 
associated with him in his plans to escape were just 
as brave as himself. After a few days in the log 
barracks, Perkins and a party set about planning to 
escape. With nothing but pen knives for tools 
these men succeeded in cutting through two of the 
thick logs that formed the floor of their cell. They 
finished their work, but concluded not to leave the 
prison until about the middle of November. On the 
night of November 20th, just after the clock at the 
provost-marshal's office struck ten, Colonel Folk, of 
North CaroUna; Capt. Tom Perkins, and Lieu- 
tenant Killmartin left their cell and safely passed 
the guard line of the prison. At midnight Captain 
Campbell, Lieutenant Casson, and Lieutenant 
Brinkly followed. After passing the guard line in 
safety, they came to the high fence surrounding the 
prison barracks, and all passed over the fence safely 
and began to flatter themselves they had now reach- 
ed safety, ending all trouble. But they soon found 
their trouble had just begun. Right in the rear of 
our prison was a large workshop in which convict 
prisoners of the United States Army were made to 
work. Our men went into this shop and out the 
back door, when they found themselves confronted 
with a second high board fence, and upon this fence 
was a parapet on which the sentinels on guard over 
the prison workshop walked. They eluded the 
guards, and had gotten safely over this fence and 



208 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

found themselves in a large field, when, to their sur- 
prise and consternation, they discovered they had 
taken the wrong direction, and, before they were 
aware of it, they stumbled upon a sentinel. This 
compelled them to make a hasty retreat, which 
threw them further out of their course, and they 
landed in a large swamp, waist deep, in which they 
floundered some time before they found solid ground, 
and this they did by crawling on their hands and 
knees. They finally found themselves near Mitch- 
ellville, a negro settlement, a growth of the Yan- 
kees harboring runaway niggers. Covered as they 
were with mud, they passed boldly through this 
village, the negroes not being able to tell if our men 
wore the blue or gray. They made no stop in the 
village. Passing through the village safely, they 
turned, as they thought, towards the south. Day- 
light now began to approach and they looked about 
for a hiding place. They found one in a clump of 
large bushes about one mile from the negro settle- 
ment. In this clump of bushes they remained all 
day without food or water, compelled to lie close to 
the ground to keep themselves from being seen by 
the soldiers and negroes constantly passing on the 
road which was within fifty feet of their hiding place. 
Had the negroes discovered them, not one man 
would have been left alive, so bitter was the hatred 
of the runaway niggers for the "Rebs." After the 
painful hours of the day had passed into night with 



209 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

her black robe thrown over the world, they started 
out in the dark to hunt the right road south. They 
had gone from their hiding place but a mile or two 
when they came onto a negro cabin. Being almost 
famished for water, they concluded to stop and ask 
for water. One of the party started for the cabin, 
but before he reached the door a negro woman came 
out with a bucket in her hand, leaving the door open 
behind her. In the light they saw a negro cavalry 
sergeant in the room. They at once retreated back 
into the road. They had not gone a mile from this 
cabin when they found they were on the outskirts of 
a village, which proved to be Mitchell ville. Again 
they retreated a mile or so back. Now hunger and 
thirst began to tell upon them, and they were com- 
pelled to stop for rest. They were completely 
broken down. They hid in some bushes and all 
^ell asleep from exhaustion. When they awoke 
they were chilled, numbed, and in great pain, which 
made it difficult for them to walk. They, however, 
again took up the line of march, as they thought, to 
the south. They staggered on for some time, when 
they came in sight of a large building, which they 
concluded would afford them shelter, but hearing 
the sentinel on picket calling "halt," they retreated 
back into the road, and laid down for a moment or 
two. Daylight was breaking, and they must again 
seek shelter. They saw in the distance a small 
clump of trees, and they made for it. From this 



210 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

shelter they could see soldiers and negroes passing 
up and down the road. Now a new trouble presented 
itself to them. Their wet clothing became heavy 
and uncomfortable. Hunger and thirst were wearing 
them out, and they dare not go out from their hiding, 
in daylight, to seek food. In looking into the 
haversack they found about a spoonful of wet corn 
meal for each man, and this was divided amongst 
them. When night came the boys again began their 
march. Captain Campbell, who was a scout of 
note, took up a position on the road, that he might 
ascertain by the travel in which direction the town 
lay. They had all gotten together and were about 
to start, when two cavalrymen galloped into sight. 
They laid down in the ditch alongside of the road. 
After these horsemen passed the boys fell in behind 
them, trusting to fate to discover to them the outer 
picket post towards Charleston. After a long 
tramp they discovered they were going in the wrong 
direction, and were compelled to seek shelter in a 
swamp to keep from being picked up by a company 
of infantry coming towards them. After consul- 
tation in the swamp it was concluded best to await 
the coming of some lone person on the road, and go 
boldly out to him and ask for information. Again 
the morning light was coming, and they must seek 
shelter. They were too weak to walk far, so they 
just laid down in the swamp grass and soon fell 
asleep, and did not awake until late next day, when 



211 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

they found their limbs so swollen and numb they 
could hardly walk, and then only with great pain. 
Yet they had no idea of going back to prison. From 
their place of hiding in the swamp they saw a clump 
of timber. This they safely reached and in its 
shelter remained the day and night. Next morning, 
after they had reached the timber, Lieut. Hugh Brink- 
ly was discovered by some negro wood choppers, who 
informed the white soldiers of the presence of a 
white man in the woods, dodging about amongst the 
trees. A large body of troops was thrown around 
the timber, from which escape was impossible, and 
our boys, broken down, weak, hungry, and thirsty, 
were recaptured and brought back to prison, — the 
human torture house. While our boys were in 
custody of the 144th New York Volimteers, who had 
captured them and treated them kindly, a Con- 
federate deserter came up to ask about the capture. 
He was dressed in citizens' clothes. After looking 
at our boys for some moments this scoundrel pulled 
a pistol out of his belt and, pointing it at Captain 
Campbell's head, deliberately pulled the trigger, and 
would have killed Campbell but for the timely aid 
of one of the 144th New York, who knocked the 
pistol out of the fellow's hand. This fellow was 
acting as spy for the Western Yankee army, and had 
recognized Captain Campbell as one of the Wheeler 
scouts. 

After a march of a few miles our men were turn- 



212 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ed over to the provost-marshal and put back into 
close confinement in the barracks for a few days, 
when they were again released to the general prison. 

After a few days of rest the same party, with 
the addition of Captains Kitchen, of North Caro- 
lina; Dupreist, Lieutenants Akers, Oliver, and 
Sergeant Denham began another plan of escape. 

After the organization had been arranged, as 
a matter of prudence, they concluded to start out 
a scout, let him get proper locations and return 
to the prison to report. Then the whole party 
should leave. This being arranged, one evening 
just after the five o'clock roll call of the prison 
was made, Captain Campbell, arrayed in the uni- 
form of a Yankee lieutenant, with Captain Perkins 
and Sergeant Denham in the uniform of privates 
(how they procured them no one has ever known), 
walked boldly out of the prison, passed the sen- 
tinel, and reached the outer guard about the prison 
before being halted. When the sentinel at the 
outer gate halted them Captain Campbell said, 
"I am Lieutenant Thomas, 22d New York Volun- 
teers. My men and myself got inside of your 
post line looking for the well." The guard saluted 
Campbell and they passed out the gate. While 
getting the proper direction our boys stumbled on 
some Yankee soldiers cooking supper. Captain 
Campbell saluted them, asked several questions 
said good night, and started with his two comrades 



213 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

down the road. Now that this danger was past 
another problem presented itself: how to pass the 
provost-marshal's office guard and officers that 
would most likely be sitting on the porch at the 
office. The boys put on a bold front, walked slowly 
down the road past the office, saluted the guard 
and a group of officers sitting on the porch, they 
thinking Campbell was what his uniform made 
him look — a Yankee officer of the newly arrived 
troops from the East. The boys went into the town 
of Hilton Head, mixed with the troops, talked with 
the officers, learning all they could that would help 
them on their final trip. In the distance our men 
saw some old breastworks and told the officer who 
had pointed them out that they would run over 
and take a look at them. Saying good evening 
they started for the breastworks; but before reach- 
ing them darkness overtook them, and before they 
knew it they walked into a lake of water. In 
their struggle to reach the shore they attracted 
the attention of the sentinel on duty, who chal- 
lenged them and demanded one should advance 
and give the countersign or he would shoot. Cap- 
tain Campbell told the sentinel to call the sergeant 
of the guard. The sentinel obeyed, and in a few 
moments the sergeant came up with a lantern. 
Seeing Captain Campbell in the uniform of a Yan- 
kee lieutenant, he saluted him and asked what 
was the matter. Campbell told the sergeant a 



214 




LIEUTENANT J. D. JENKINS 
TEXAS 



(Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

story about his men wanting to look over the old 
breastworks and he gratified them by coming with 
them; but in the darkness they lost their way and 
walked into the lake. The sergeant listened at- 
tentively to Campbell's story, was convinced he 
was all right, piloted Campbell and his companions 
over the lake shore without going past the re- 
serve guard. Before leaving prison Campbell had 
prepared himself and comrades a pass. This he 
showed the sergeant, who grew very polite and 
insisted on putting the boys on the right road to 
camp. After the sergeant left our boys they pushed 
up the road and soon found themselves in Sea- 
brook; and all this due to the poHte sergeant, who 
never suspected he was aiding Rebel prisoners of 
war to escape. While on their way to Seabrook 
they heard before them the gallop of horses, and 
hardly had time to conceal themselves before two 
cavalrymen dashed past, evidently couriers from 
Seabrook. After a consultation by our boys as to 
the next move to make, they concluded to try and 
apture some old darky to guide them into and 
about Seabrook, so they could locate the boats and 
sentinel over them. They had not gone down the 
road very far when it seemed like Providence sent 
them the very man they were looking for in the 
person of a very gullible old darky, credulous, 
like all his race. Campbell stopped him and in- 
troduced himself as Lieutenant Thomas, 2 2d New 



215 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

York Volunteers, the newly arrived regiment from 
the East. He then told the old darky that if he 
could get them a good boat or show him (the Lieu- 
tenant) where a boat could be obtained in Sea- 
brook, they would take him to Pinkney Island, 
where they had buried a lot of fine whisky, part 
of which the darky was to have for his trouble 
in getting the boat and helping to get the whisky 
over to the mainland. They told the old nigger 
he could sell his share of the whisky to the soldiers 
for five dollars per bottle. They impressed the 
old nigger with the necessity of silence, as the 
whisky had been smuggled from New York, and 
if the matter got to the ears of the General, they 
would all be shot and the nigger with them. He 
took in the story, and swore to be silent and true, 
get the boat and pilot the Lieutenant and his men 
over to the island and never say "nuffin to nobody, 
and git the boat hisself without any white man 
knowing 'bout it." 

Capt. Tom. Perkins went into Seabrook with 
the old darky, who showed him the wharf where 
the boats were moored, and pointed out the sen- 
tinel over them. He also showed Perkins how he 
(the darky) could slip under the bridge without 
the sentinel seeing him. After Perkins had gotten 
all the information he wanted out of the old nigger 
they returned to the point where they had left the 
lieutenant and man. Here our boys parted from 



216 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

their guide, with a solemn promise to meet them 
the next night at midnight at a point near Seabrook 
and then go for the whisky. The old nigger put 
them on the road to Hilton Head and went to his 
home in Seabrook to dream of the whisky he was to 
get and sell the "Lincum sogers." 

On the way down the road Capt. Tom Per- 
kins collapsed. The corn meal and pickle diet 
had broken him up. From the time the boys 
left prison they had walked over twenty miles. 
After a rest of an hour or so Perkins revived, and 
our fellows started back to prison to communicate 
the information gained to their comrades. They 
got as near the prison as they could before day- 
light without discovery. They then hid until 
good daylight, then walked boldly into the Yankee 
guards* barracks, next to our prison, and from 
there passed over into the prison without being 
discovered. They had wonderful stories to tell 
us on their return to prison. They had been out 
of the barracks for over thirteen hours — never 
missed even by the sergeant who called the prison 
roll. But later in the day some spy in the prison 
communicated the story of the boys to the provost- 
marshal. He was dumbfounded as to how our 
boys got hold of the uniforms; it was real funny 
to see the agitation of the provost-marshal-general 
when he found he had been outwitted by the cun- 
ning of the "Reb." 



217 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

On January 20, 1865, Col. Van Manning re- 
ceived positive information from one of the guards 
that Lieut. J. W. Davis, 20th Va. Cav., was going 
to take the oath of allegiance and had made appli- 
cation to take it and be released. A meeting of 
prisoners was called to meet in Capt. Tom Perkins' 
cell, and a committee appointed to wait on Lieu- 
tenant Davis and invite him to come before the 
prisoners and refute, if he could, the charge Col- 
onel Manning had made. Davis promptly ac- 
cepted the committee's invitation, came before the 
prisoners, and solemnly declared on honor that 
he had made no application to take the oath, and 
had never had such idea. When Colonel Manning 
read a copy of the application to him he broke 
down, admitted the truth, and became very de- 
fiant. Colonel Manning suggested to the meeting 
that, as Lieutenant Davis had premeditatedly in- 
tended to dishonor his uniform of the Confeder- 
ate States Army and insult by such act his brother 
officers, prisoners of war, that the bars and buttons 
be cut from his coat, and his coat turned inside 
out, and that he be ostracized by his fellow pris- 
oners. This suggestion was quickly carried out 
by Tom Perkins and Pete Akers. Colonel Manning 
suggested to Davis that he get the provost-marshal 
to remove him from the prison at once, as the pris- 
oners were not in good temper to tolerate or over- 
look his insult to them by taking the oath. Like 



218 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

a whipped cur Davis ran and put himself under 
care of the guard, who soon had the fellow out of 
our prison. 

The following day, after Davis had been re- 
moved from the prison, Colonel Manning, Capt. 
Tom Perkins, Captain Kitchen, of North Caro- 
lina; Captain Campbell, Lieutenants P. B. Akers 
and John Casson, the committee that called the 
meeting and disgraced Davis, were taken from 
our barracks and locked up in a cell in the Yankee 
convict prison, where criminals of all sorts were 
confined, — men who had broken the laws of God 
and man. These refined gentlemen, Confederate 
officers, prisoners of war, were locked up with 
criminals without the least investigation, by the 
provost-marshal, of the charges Davis made against 
them. These gentlemen were all put in one cell, 
not over three feet wide and six feet long, and 
there they were kept, in this cramped condition, 
for seven days and nights. From five o'clock in 
the afternoon until ten o'clock in the morning 
their cell door was closed and not allowed to be 
opened except by order of the provost-marshal. 
In this cell all the men could not lay down at once 
comfortably, but by tight squeezing they could 
lay spoon fashion. In this cell was put each night 
a foul smelling tub for sink purposes, and there 
it remained from five o'clock each evening until 
ten o'clock next morning before it was taken out. 



219 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

The cell floor was made of heavy pine logs, smoothed 
with the axe, from which the rough knots were 
not cut very close. They had no blankets, and 
the hard logs was not a downy bed. This cell had 
been occupied by some convict niggers, and was 
swarming with vermin, which accentuated dis- 
comfort and misery. Yet we hear much said a- 
bout the tortures of Anderson ville, by the Northern 
people. No such treatment was ever inflicted upon 
Union prisoners of war in any Confederate prison 
of the South. Just above the cell in which our 
comrades were confined was a room in which 
white and nigger convicts were confined. Daily 
they polluted the ears of our comrades with the 
vilest epithets such scoundrels could utter about 
our Southern women. They even cut a hole 
through the floor and spit upon our men, and when 
the prison authorities were complained to about 
this indignity they simply smiled and made no 
effort to stop it; they even rather encouraged 
these vile scoundrels in their meanness and insults 
to our helpless men. Davis, the deserter, one 
day did worse than spit upon our men in the cell. 
Our men protested to the sergeant who had charge 
of the convict room, but he would take no notice 
of the protest. Finally the conduct of the con- 
victs towards our men became so unbearable that 
Colonel Manning got the sergeant to ask Lieu- 
tenant Thompson, U. S. A., assistant provost- 



220 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

marshal, to come and see him, which he did. Our 
men protested against such insults as the convicts 
perpetrated upon them, but Thompson simply- 
ordered the cell door closed, and paid no further 
attention to the protest, and this devilish torture 
went on. Finally the provost-marshal-general made 
a general inspection of the convict prison, with 
his assistant, Thompson. When the door of the 
cell in which our men were confined was opened 
Colonel Gumey asked Thompson why those Con- 
federate prisoners of war were confined in convict 
cells. Thompson hesitated for a moment before 
he replied, and then lied by saying the men had 
formed a conspiracy to escape and murder the 
guard. Colonel Manning at once denounced 
Lieutenant Thompson as a liar, and his story as 
a mean, cowardly lie. When Colonel Gumey 
heard Colonel Manning's story, he ordered Thomp- 
son to instantly remove the prisoners from the 
filthy cells to a room on the floor above, where 
they were confined seventeen days, surrounded by 
the galvanized scoundrels — deserters who had taken 
the oath of allegiance. This fellow, Thompson, 
inflicted upon Colonel Manning all the little mean 
indignities he dared without Colonel Gumey find- 
ing him out; and all this for the sole reason that 
Manning had proved and denounced Thompson a 
liar and coward. 

These brave men never allowed this fellow 



221 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

to see how much he really made them suffer. They 
were that class of men referred to by Judah P. 
Benjamin who, when he left the United States 
Senate, said to the people of the North: "You 
may, with your immense armies, invade the South; 
sack our cities, towns and villages; render home- 
less our wives and children; you may drive the 
black car of war throughout our land; but the 
subjugation of our people is impossible." 

The most fearful test a man can be put to is 
that of starvation. The corn-meal-pickle ration 
was this test; it was the trying ordeal of the man- 
hood of those six hundred Confederate mortals. 
They stood the test. The seventeen who took 
the oath were the dross of the gold; they must 
wear their badge of dishonor; they cannot rid 
themselves of it, they cannot hide it. In the 
world's history these fellows will be classed as 
cowards; in the glorious history of the Confederacy 
they will be written down as deserters, — none can 
defend them. Dear old Murray, let's say to- 
gether, "God bless those of the six hundred who 
remained true unto the end," Their story will 
be written on the scroll of fame; it will go down 
through all time. Generations will sing their 
praise and crown them martyrs to principle for 
their devotion and fidelity in those days of torture. 



222 




LIEUTENANT W. B. CARDER 
VIRGINIA 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ESCAPE FROM FEDERALS. 

I was Captain of Company H, 10th Louis- 
iana Regiment, Infantry, Stafford's Brigade, Ed- 
ward Johnston's Division, Jackson's (afterwards 
Ewell's) Corps, of the Army of Northern Virginia. 
With three-fourths of the regiment, I was taken 
prisoner at the Bloody Angle, at the battle of 
Spottsylvania, May 12, 1864. I was taken to 
Fort Delaware and was one of the six hundred 
Confederate officers picked out to be placed under 
the fire of the Confederate batteries on Morris 
Island, for alleged retaliation. 

These officers were embarked in August on 
the small transport "Crescent," where four men 
were allowed a space of four by six feet to lie in. 
We had been some nineteen days on this floating 
purgatory when we were landed on Morris Island, 
and marched ankle deep in sand for six miles to 
our place of confinement, a stockade that had 
been erected between the Union batteries Gregg 
and Wagner, where we remained for some six weeks, 
under the occasional fire of mortar batteries in 
Charleston and the premature explosions of shells 
fired from battery Wagner. As a refinement of 
cruelty, we were guarded by the 54th Massachu- 
setts (negro) Regiment. Later, a part of the pris- 
oners were sent to Port Royal for wintering and 
the rest to the damp casemates of Fort Pulaski. 
I was with the latter. 



223 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Early in March, 1865, it was reported that 
the six hundred were to be exchanged at a point 
on the James River, and they were reunited and 
embarked on the big transport "IlUnois," which 
was already crowded with prisoners taken by 
Sherman at Savannah, some of whom were sick 
and wounded. In due time the vessel reached 
Norfolk, where orders were received to return 
the prisoners to Fort Delaware. This was sad 
news indeed to the six hundred, who hoped to be 
back in Dixie soon. 

The vessel put to sea and after dark I went 
on the upper deck for fresh air. I was soon ap- 
proached by an Irishman, who was of the crew 
and was a Southern sympathizer. He said to me: 
"They're treating you like dogs. I'd get away 
if I were you." 

I replied to him that I would do so if he could 
show me how, and that I had already made four 
fruitless attempts. He then told me that in the 
forward part of the deck, where I was quartered, 
I would find a hatch through which I could descend 
to the forepart of the hold, where the anchor chains 
and sail duck, ropes, etc., were stored. That if 
I concluded to make the attempt and would let 
him know, after a while — after the prisoners would 
be landed at Fort Delaware, the day following — 
he would bring me food for the trip to New York, 
where the transport was to go to take on supplies. 



224 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

That before reaching New York he would come 
down to supply me with clothes and to give me a 
few dollars. "Then," he concluded, "if you're 
smart, you'll be able to get back South." I thanked 
him and told him that I would let him know as 
he suggested. Thereupon, I went down for a con- 
sultation with some friends. Three of them agreed 
to make the attempt with me. They were: Capt. 
Thomas F. Perkins, 11th Tenn. Cav.; Capt. Em- 
mett E. DePriest, 23d Va. Inf., and Lieut. Cicero 
M. Allen (a Louisianian), 2d Ark. Cav. We de- 
cided not to inform my Irish friend, for fear that by 
some indiscretion he might have our attempt re- 
vealed. We swapped clothes with other friends, 
gathered some crackers and canteens of water, 
some matches and candles, and arranged with 
some of the Georgians to personify us at roll calls, 
and, after bidding our friends good-bye and re- 
ceiving their warm wishes for our success, we 
went down to the designated place of conceal- 
ment. We fixed places to lie in with the aid of 
candle light, but soon afterwards Captain Perkins, 
who had been suffering with flux, was violently 
seized with pains in the bowels and his ailment 
grew more pronounced, to an extent that caused 
us to insist upon his return to the deck above us 
and seek the assistance of the surgeon. The gal- 
lant fellow urged his right to risk his life in the 
endeavor, and that the responsibility rested wholly 



225 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

upon himself. We finally resolved to infonn him 
that we could not agree to his view and that we had 
rather abandon the attempt than witness his in- 
cieasing sufferings and danger, and that we would 
proceed to do so. He then consented to be as- 
sisted up the hatch. We then fell into a sleep 
from which we awoke by the cessation of the ves- 
sel's rolling and pitching, and the rumblings above 
indicating that we were at Fort Delaware and 
that the prisoners were being landed. For several 
hours we lay upon the anxious bench, but when 
the vessel began to move once more we felt that 
our absence had not been observed and that we had 
only to fear a telegram to search the vessel on 
her arrival at New York. At times during the 
rest of the voyage we would light the candle for 
an instant, eat some crackers and go back to sleep. 
Finally we were awakened by the firing of a cannon 
and soon after the ship's motion told us that we 
were in New York harbor. We could hear the 
whistles of passing crafts, and when we felt it to 
be afternoon, we ascended to the deck above and 
sought refuge there in a dark corner. After dusk 
one of the trio made a reconnoissance to the upper 
deck and reported the vessel to be fast to the pier 
with her stern swinging a few feet outward. We 
had been in the hold for more than three days 
and nights, and it was with joyful feelings that we 
emerged upon the upper deck and in turn jumped 



226 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

to the wharf and walked rapidly into the city. 
We soon crossed Broadway and hastened to go 
down into a cellar saloon and eating place. We 
called for cocktails and had a substantial meal. 
We were in rags and looked like tramps. Fourteen 
dollars in greenbacks was our aggregate wealth. 
We went to a cheap lodging house and got a room 
under assumed names. There we gazed at each 
other and rejoiced at being free men again. Allen 
had been a prisoner for fifteen months and DePriest 
and I ten months. It was then Sunday, March 
13, 1865. 

The next day we found friends who gave us 
clothes and money. DePriest left us to go to 
Baltimore, where he expected to meet friends, and 
Allen and myself concluded to stay a few days 
longer to recuperate. 

At the end of the time we had set, we proceeded 
to Baltimore, thence to a place near Point of Rocks, 
on the Potomac, where we thought of entering 
Virginia and rejoining the Confederate forces. 
There news came that Richmond was about to 
be evacuated, and we felt that we would soon have 
Grant's army to elude to get to our friends. We 
decided to return to Baltimore. There our friends 
suppHed us with funds and railroad tickets and 
we went on through to Louisville. Thence we 
took a steamer for Cairo. At Evansville cannons 
were being fired, as we landed, announcing the 



227 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

surrender at Appomattox. A Union officer was 
addressing a large crowd that was rejoicing over 
what we regarded as dreadful news. At Cairo 
we got aboard another boat and went down to 
Memphis. Finding it difficult to get out of the 
lines there we went back aboard, and on her trip 
up we were landed at Randolph, in West Tennessee, 
in the middle of the night. Thence we made our 
way safely to Meridian, Mississippi, and reported 
to Gen. Richard Taylor, whose army had retired 
to that place after the evacuation of Mobile. The 
General gave us thirty days' furlough almost on 
the eve of the surrender of his forces. 

Then we crossed the Mississippi with the in- 
tention of joining Kirby Smith's army in the ru- 
mored continuance of the war in the Trans-Mis- 
sissippi country. But before the expiration of our 
furloughs that officer also surrendered. The war 
was over. 

Allen died at Lake Providence, La., not long 
after the war. Perkins, who became prominent 
in politics in Tennessee, died in the nineties. De- 
Priest also died in the nineties, at Richmond. 

I had the good fortune of meeting Allen and 
Perkins at times after the war, but never had the 
satisfaction of meeting DePriest, from whom, how- 
ever, I received several messages. 

Leon Jastremeska. 
Baton Rouge, La., December 26, 1904. 



228 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Fernandina, Fla., January 18, 1905. 
Maj. J. Ogden Murray, 

Winchester, Va. 
My Dear Comrade and Friend: 

When I go back to those days of the ordeal 
of starvation of the Six Hundred Immortals, and 
think of the ordeal we went through on Morris 
Island, Hilton Head, S. C, and Fort Pulaski, Ga., 
by order of Secretary Stanton, my heart grows 
bitter. 

I can never forget November 20, 1864, when 
two hundred and twenty of us were taken from the 
prison of Fort Pulaski and sent to Hilton Head. 
When we reached Hilton Head we were unloaded 
upon the wharf, then under guard marched through 
the town, and placed in a camp one mile in the 
rear of the village. Our shelter was the same 
old A-tents we had on Morris Island; we were 
surrounded by the same old 54th nigger troops; 
our ration two ounces of fat meat with a small 
quantity of hominy grits, most vilely cooked, and 
some beans. A few frying pans were given us, 
but were not sufficient for the camp use, so we 
had to let each mess have its turn with the frying 
pans. Our camp was located in a very exposed 
place. On the evening of November 29th we 
were moved from this bleak camp into barracks, 
built in the yard of the provost-marshal's office. 
The building was a large log structure of two 



229 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

stories, with hospital in the second story. The 
lower floor was built in cells, six by eight feet. 
A long pine board table was run down the room 
before our cells. This was our dining room, or 
mess hall. Between the table and our cells there 
was a space of two or three feet, and up and down, 
night and day, a sentinel with loaded gun paced. 
They would not allow us to close the cell doors; 
we had no blankets, the weather was cold, and 
there [was no stove allowed in our quarters. On 
December 4th about forty or more of our party — 
the sick and wounded — were sent to Hilton Head, 
and exchanged. Time hung heavy on our hands 
at that place. We were allowed no exercise out- 
side of our cells, and no incident that I can now 
recall occurred to break the monotony of the prison 
until December, when we were put on the rotten 
com meal and pickle ration; ten ounces of rotten 
com meal, one-half pint onion pickle — no grease, 
no salt, no meat of any kind. There were plenty 
of imprecations heaped upon the heads of those 
who ordered us such a ration, but there was no 
sign of a break in our ranks. 

A party composed of Captains Perkins, Jes- 
tremeska and Casson and some others, cut a plank 
out of their cell floor and would have made their 
escape from the prison but for a Lieut. J. W. Davis, 
who betrayed them. This fellow took the oath 
of allegiance. Some of our party did get out of 



230 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the prison, but were recaptured, brought back, 
and the whole lot crowded into a small cell, four 
by eight, which had been used to confine some 
nigger convicts. When it was discovered that this 
fellow, — Davis, — ^had betrayed the boys, Col. Van 
Manning and Lieut. Pete Akers cut the stripes 
from his collar and buttons from his coat, and 
literally kicked him out of prison before the guard 
could interfere to save him. This action on the 
part of our men got them into a cell in close con- 
finement for many days. 

The corn meal diet was rough on our fellows, 
and scurvy got hold of us badly. One day I saw 
one of our men sitting very quietly in one corner 
of the room. Thinking he was sick, I went over 
to speak to him and do whatever I could for his 
comfort. I found he had a long string in his hand, 
on which he had a fishhook baited with a grain of 
corn. This he dropped through a chink in the 
floor. He was simply catching rats. For a while 
I thought the poor fellow was crazy, but when he 
yanked in a rat the problem of why he was quiet 
was solved. He caught rats and ate them to keep 
from starving. 

There was a fine large cat, that belonged to 
the provost-marshal's office, that often came into 
our prison. One day this cat very mysteriously 
disappeared; next day my mess had meat for 
dinner, and we invited some other fellows to dine 



231 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

with us. In February, 1865, our ration was in- 
creased by two ounces of meat and two ounces of 
potatoes; but it came too late to drive away scurvy. 
About this time Colonel Manning, Pete Akers, 
Tom Perkins, and the others were released from 
their close confinement. March 4, 1865, we were 
loaded on board of the steamer "Ashland," taken 
to Hilton Head Harbor, and transferred to the 
steamship "Illinois," and sent back to Fort Dela- 
ware prison. On comparing numbers — leaving out 
those exchanged and those who deserted — we found 
that twenty-five per cent, of our number had died 
from the brutal treatment. The "IlHnois" was a 
troop ship, dirty, but not one hundredth part as 
filthy and dirty as was the steamer "Crescent City," 
that brought us from Fort Delaware to Morris 
Island, in August, 1864. 

You can tell the story of the trip better than 
I can. You had a diary. Tell it, dear old com- 
rade. The world must know how brutal we were 
treated; and do not forget, you must put in big 
type the seventeen deserters who took the oath. 

Sincerely your comrade and friend, 

W. D. Ballantine. 



232 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



CHAPTER FIVE 

Account of Escape from Fort Pulaski, by W. E. 
Stewart, Easton, Maryland. 

Easton, Maryland, 
July 13th, 1897. 
J. Ogden Murray, Esq., 

My dear Comrade: 

I certainly was delighted to hear from you, and 
to know that you intended to write a book about 
our treatment from the time we left Fort Delaware 
until the end of imprisonment. 

I knew Col. Fulkerson, was in the same mess 
with Col. Manning, Fellows was on Gen'l Beall's 
staff who was our Brigadier General at Port Hud- 
son. But I do not think that Fellows was with us at 
Morris Island, or at Fort Pulaski. The other 
gentlemen whom you mentioned I have forgotten. 
I was Major of the 15th (Port Hudson) Arkansas 
Regiment. There were three 15th Arkansas Regi- 
ments, numbered from the different calls for troops. 
When I escaped from the so-called hospital, Lieut. 
Wm. H. Hatcher also escaped with me. Hatcher 
was from Virginia, a place called Thaxton or Thax- 
ton Switch, not far from Lynchburg. He belonged 
to a Virginia Regiment. I do not know whether 



233 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

he is still alive. I saw him in Baltimore some 
twelve or fifteen years ago, but he did not then look 
very strong, and I have not since heard from him. 
I was captured at Port Hudson and sent to 
Johnsons Island, and sent from Johnsons Island with 
the sick and wounded to be exchanged at Point 
Lookout. Two boat loads were exchanged, then 
exchange was stopped, and quite a number of the 
prisoners were sent to Fort Delaware. Most of us 
were put in the pen, but I was placed in the fort; 
Col. Fulkerson was in the fort. I have forgotten 
the date when we left Fort Delaware, and in fact 
do not recollect any of the dates from the time we 
left, so you will have to supply them, and I want to 
get your book when published. But many cir- 
cumstances I shall never forget. I recollect when 
we were marched aboard of the iron steamer, — I 
think her name was the "Crescent." It was a hot 
day, we were kept in her hold. Col. Woolfolk was in 
the bunk with me; I do not know what became of 
him, he was from Paducah, Ky. I think he made 
some arrangement with the crew by which he was 
smuggled back with the steamer, — ^he never landed 
at Morris Island. I think we were on the boat 
eighteen days; on the route, you will remember, 
the steamer got aground, and when we found it out, 
it was agreed that Col. Manning, Col. DeGurney, 
and I think, yourself, should demand that the steamer 
should be surrendered to us. Our escort was a 



234 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

man-of-war called, I think, the "Dictator." She 
lost us and about the time we expected to get our 
liberty she hove in sight and our plans were frus- 
trated. Of course, you remember the little A-tents 
without flys on Morris Island; I heard that four- 
teen cart loads of pieces of shell were hauled ofif the 
groimd where we were penned when the place was 
cleaned, for our accommodation. I can almost 
hear ourselves now counting ofif, and marching to 
get the hardtacks and the little pieces of meat, and 
the soup, one-half pint, for dinner. I think it took 
fourteen hardtacks to weigh a pound, and it was 
Col. Hallowell, I believe (a white-eyed villain from 
Boston, I think), who remarked that we got our 
fresh meat from the worms in the soup. 

Then our removal to Fort Pulaska, the twenty- 
one casemates, I think, from which the cannons had 
been removed — the four cook stoves, the two ounces 
of flour bread, and ten ounces of corn meal, and the 
pickles, — no meat, grease or vegetables — our sick- 
ness in the damp fort, a reservoir in one of the 
casements — the doctors coming in one day with 
pills, another with powders, and stating that medi- 
cine was no use, that we were starving. I believe 
if Foster had not been removed, and Gilmore put 
in his place that all the prisoners would have been 
starved to death. I have heard that Gilmore's 
surgeons reported that the prisoners were starving 
and that desiccated vegetables were ordered. I 



235 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

know that the scurvy broke out and many were 
sorely afflicted. I had a touch of it and my gums 
have never been all right since. 

I was taken very sick, and one day I was re- 
moved, wrapped in a blanket — I could hardly see, 
taste, or smell — carried in a horse cart from the fort 
to what was intended for a hospital. It was a small 
house, I suppose, a quarter of a mile from the fort. 
I found about eight or ten sick prisoners. We had 
beds and a fire — the same rations, only the bread 
was in loaves, and the corn meal was baked in large 
cakes. After awhile I began to improve and could 
walk about. I made gutta percha jewelry (I was 
considered a tip-top hand at it) and gave some to 
Col. Carmichael, I think, and possibly some to Col. 
Brown, but I know I made some for the Doctor. 
I have forgotten the number of the Regiment, but 
Col. Brown and Lieut. Col. Carmichael, and the 
Doctor, were kind-hearted men, but had to do as 
they were ordered. After Brown's Regiment was 
removed another Regiment took its place. I do 
not know the number or the names of the officers. 
Col. Brown's doctor told me he would see the new 
doctor, and tell him about me. I had made so much 
jewelry for the officers and men that I had some 
influence and I think I got several sick removed from 
the fort to the house. 

The night I escaped from the Island, a salute 
in honor of the fall of Charleston was fired — I have 



236 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

forgotten the month and day; we had to get away 
in short order; it was, I think, the same day that 
the new regiment arrived to guard us. I think it is 
called ten miles from the Island to the South Caro- 
lina shore — that is the route we took. 

Hatcher and myself roomed together; the new 
doctor came to the hospital where we were; he 
looked at and examined the prisoners, and he told 
Hatcher and myself that we were well enough to go 
back to the fort, and that he would send us back. 
Neither one of us was well and we were very weak. 
I told Hatcher that if in our condition we went back 
to the damp fort, we would surely die — that we 
must get away that night or get killed in attempting 
it. He agreed with me. There were sentinels, 
then a boat guard and a gunboat not far from the 
island. We gathered up a haversack full of scraps of 
bread, and had a canteen full of water and were 
preparing for our trip. About the time we were 
ready to leave the doctor came in on us. I pre- 
tended that the things were in such a condition, 
because I was hunting for a letter. The doctor did 
not suspicion us and in a short time left, so now we 
were ready. I shall never forget a poor fellow 
named Davis from Florida. I gave him my uniform 
suit; he was very ill and could not walk. He asked 
us to take him along, but, of course, he could not 
go and we left the house. It was, I reckon, 8:30 
or 9 o'clock at night. We crawled out of the house 



237 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

and through the grass until we got to the shore. 
We had to go past guards and we could hear the 
sentries on the boat wharf. We went up the shore, 
towards the fort hunting for a boat; finally we 
found one on the shore. It was a large boat and as 
Hatcher and myself were so weak we could not 
launch her, we had to leave her. We prowled around 
and in a little while found a small canoe, about large 
enough for one man — a very light and frail affair. 
I hardly think the boat was ten feet long and she 
was very narrow. I told Hatcher to untie the boat; 
he crawled in the grass to the bow of the boat, and 
then crawled back to me and said the boat was 
chained and locked. I asked him if he had any 
keys; he said he left his keys at the hospital. I told 
him to crawl back and get them and I would wait in 
the grass for him, so he went back to the hospital 
and brought his keys, but none of them would fit 
the lock, so I told him to stay in the grass and I 
would go back to the hospital and get a file and cold 
chisel. I went back and brought them. We filed 
away and it seemed to us that you could hear the 
noise one hundred yards; finally we filed through 
the link; then we got two stones and put a hat over 
the chisel and drove the chisel into the link until it 
was opened wide enough to let the chain be parted. 
The little canoe was chained to a large ship's row 
boat which was a wreck, and high up on the marsh. 
We soon launched the little craft and Hatcher got in 



238 




LIEUTENANT R. M. FLETCHER 
ARKANSAS 



(Merchant) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the middle and I took a seat in the stern. Now as 
we were lower, we could see the sentinels on the 
wharf and the gunboat, but they could not see us 
so well. We concluded that if we could pass the 
boat guard, and not be discovered by the gunboat, 
we would escape. We paddled lightly, were not 
seen, and then we went at it with all our might. 
I think the current runs about eight miles an hour 
in the Savannah River; we had fair tide and wind 
and we fairly flew. After awhile we got out of sight 
of everything, and then we concluded that we were 
going out to sea, and that we would be swamped and 
drowned, but we kept on and finally came to land 
on our right. Hatcher said it was an island. I 
thought it was the South Carolina side of the river. 
We kept the land to our right, and finally came to a 
very suspicious place — it looked like a tower — and 
when we neared it we heard a noise just like men 
cocking their muskets. I told Hatcher to get down 
in the boat and I put the oar under my arm, and 
every moment expected to receive a volley, but we 
concluded that it must have been some animal 
walking over the dry canes. After a while we saw a 
gunboat in the river; we went by it and heard the 
sentry cry out "half past eleven and all is well." 
I think we kept on but the tide changed and we 
could hardly make any progress, so we concluded to 
land. We pulled the boat ashore, and cut down the 
tall grass and covered the boat with it. I asked 



239 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Hatcher if he could keep a course. He said he had 
traveled over the mountains in Virginia and never 
got lost, so I took the canteen and oar and Hatcher 
took the haversack and off we started. We ran all 
night and it seemed to us that we must have jumped 
over or into a hundred ditches. When day broke 
we discovered that we had been traveling over an 
immense marsh which had been burnt off, and we 
were at the edge of where the grass was as high as 
our heads. We learned after we got out of it that 
we had been in an immense rice plantation full of 
ditches. Before starting through the high grass or, 
as it seemed, an ocean of marsh. Hatcher and my- 
self held a council of war. We were sure that we 
could not be captured or found in that marsh, but 
the question was, could we ever get out of it? 
Hatcher thought we were on an island, I though it 
was a part of the South Carolina main land, so the 
first thing we did was to divide our rations into six 
parts, for we thought it would take us at least three 
days to get around it, if it were an island, and if it 
were part of the main land it would take us the same 
length of time to get through the marsh and reach 
dry land; so, as before stated, we divided our rations 
into six parts and agreed not to eat but one ration a 
day, so we started. I think it was Sunday night we 
got away, but am not sure; if it were not Sunday 
night, then we started through that wilderness of 
marsh and grass, Monday morning. We walked 



240 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

all day and were very thirsty, for it seems that the 
ocean and river water mingled and tasted salty; 
after drinking nearly a canteen full, in ten minutes, 
you felt as if you were famishing and had never 
taken a drink of water. After walking all day — 
sometimes the water being over our shoes, then 
again very deep, night found us in the water and 
marsh. We cut down grass and piled it up until it 
was above the water, then got on top of it and went 
to sleep. I guess we slept nearly a couple of hours 
and awoke nearly chilled to death. We could not 
keep our teeth from chattering. When daylight 
came we were hungry and thirsty; we ate our ration 
and started again through the tall grass, above our 
heads; Hatcher got a briar in his eye and we thought 
his eye was out, but he did not go blind at the time 
we thought he would. The grass constantly getting 
between our legs and striking us all the time came to 
feel as if we had been struck by sticks. My legs 
gave out and I had to lift them up with my hands; 
to avoid the grass, if we came across a muskrat 
track we would follow it as far as we could; when 
darkness came we were still in that marsh, so we had 
to sleep as we did the night before. At daybreak we 
again ate a ration; we were very hungry and thirsty 
and started through the marsh; about 9 or 10 o'clock 
the marsh got firmer, and but Httle water on it, and 
in a little while we reached a forest high and dry. 
We took off our clothes and wrung out the water. 



241 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

then started through the woods. We now knew 
that we were on the South Carolina side of the 
Savannah River, and we knew that we were in the 
Federal lines, because, as I said when we left, the 
troops at the fort were firing a salute in honor of the 
fall of Charleston. Sherman had gone from Sa- 
vannah to Charleston. I forgot to say that we were 
dressed in Yankee clothes — we were constantly- 
afraid we would run into the Yankee army. We 
never saw but one squad during the day; we saw 
where Sherman's army had camped and we saw the 
chimney of many houses that had been burned, 
everything seemed to have been destroyed. At 
about sundown, we came to where two roads crossed 
and we were afraid to venture down a road until 
dark, so we hid in the woods, and we were then so 
hungry that we agreed that if we could to get a full 
meal the Yankees might capture or kill us, and 
we determined to go to the first place that we saw a 
light. 

When night came we started down a road; we 
had not gone very far before we heard a dog barking. 
We started for the sound and in a little while we 
saw a light and it was in a house occupied by a 
colored man. We inquired where we were; he 
asked us which way we came in, we told him, and he 
said that was the road taken by Sherman's army. 
He said we were about eight miles from Savannah. 
We pretended that we were Federal soldiers from 



242 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



Savannah out on a foraging trip, that we lost our 
way, and would have to be at camp at roU-caU in 
the morning or we would be put in guard house. 
Incidentally we told him we had come out without 
any money and that we were very hungry. I had 
a new penknife in my pocket and said that I would 
give it to him for our supper. He looked at the 
knife and said he would do so. His wife and him- 
self went out of the room and in a Httle while she 
brought in a great dish full of rice and a good quantity 
of fresh pork. We soon ate every bit of it. Hatcher 
had the toothache, but he said he would not allow 
that to keep him from eating, so he kept at it until 
we had eaten all, and then the woman went out and 
brought in as much more, and we ate nearly all of 
that. The old man and his wife seemed astonished 
at our appetites. We put what was left in our 
haversack, bade the old man and his wife good night 
and started off. It was the first information we had 
about "where we were." We traveled all night and 
next morning went to sleep in some pine leaves in 
the woods not far from the road. We saw quite a 
number of refugees, negroes, and some soldiers 
passing on the road. I reckon it was about 3 or 4 
o'clock when we awoke; we remained in our hiding 
place until dark, when we resumed our journey. 
We had traveled until after midnight when we came 
to a house which was occupied by a colored man. I 
gave him some thread and needles in exchange for 



243 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

supper. I asked him if some white people did not 
Hve in the neighborhood. He said that just up the 
road an old white lady and her daughter were living 
— that the daughter's husband was a Captain in the 
Rebel army. He said that your folks (he thought 
we were Yankee soldiers) had burnt down the "big" 
house and that old Mrs. Zant (I think that was the 
name, but am not sure) and her daughter were 
living in a small house on the roadside. We left 
and after awhile came up to the house. It was very 
dark and raining hard — it rained nearly every night 
we were out; we rapped at the door and after awhile 
we heard some one say from the inside of the house, 
"I am an old woman sixty-five years of age." She 
seemed to be scared ; she doubtless thought we were 
Yankee's and were going to burn down that house, 
as her "big house" had been burned. She never 
opened the door, but I believe we half-way con- 
vinced her that we were escaped Confederate pris- 
oners; for she said to us, "Why don't you go across 
the river, for you will starve on this side?" We 
asked her if we could get across the river, and she 
said "You go right out to the gate and turn to your 
left, and the first house you come to is where my 
old colored man lives, and he will put you across the 
river, and if you cannot get across come to my house 
in the morning and I will give you your breakfast." 
We did as directed, found the old colored man, and 
asked him to put us across the river. He told us 



244 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

that some one had taken his boat, but if we went up 
the road about four miles, Mr. Yomans (I think 
that was the name) had a boat and would put us 
over the river. So off we started for Mr. Yomans' ; 
we were very tired and our feet were sore, we trudged 
along the muddy road in the rain until daybreak,, 
but didn't see Mr. Yomans' house. We then came 
to the conclusion that we passed it in the darkness, 
so we concluded to turn back; after walking back 
some long distance, we thought possibly we had not 
come to Mr. Yomans' place and turned back again. 
After walking a little way we saw some people com- 
ing and we hid in the woods until they came up. 
There were an old man and his wife, a pretty girl 
about fourteen, without shoes, and a boy some 
twelve years old, and a good sized dog in the com- 
pany. When they came up we went out of the 
woods and met them. We said we were looking for 
Mr. Yomans. He said he was the man, and he said 
we had passed his house about two miles back. We 
told him we were escaped prisoners from Fort Pu- 
laski and wanted to get across the river. Just as 
soon as we told him we were escaped prisoners, the 
old lady spoke up and said to her husband "John, 
you put these men across the river," and said to us, 
" I have a son a prisoner at Fort Delaware, and may- 
be some one will help him." The old man said, "I 
will put you across the river if I get hung for it." He 
told us that he was out trying to catch a hog. We 



245 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

asked him if we could not assist him; he said his 
wife and the children could catch the hog with the 
dog, so we started back to reach Mr. Yomans' 
boat; the boat was in a bayou and we had to go a 
long distance to reach it; the river was overflowed, 
and it was a tough job to get to the boat. It was a 
small affair — a little larger than the boat we took at 
the fort. Hatcher got in the bow of the boat, I sat 
in the middle, and Mr. Yomans in the stem. It 
seemed the canoe would upset all the time on ac- 
count of the heavy load as the boat was only in- 
tended for one man. As we went down the bayou, 
I looked and saw something on top of a cypress tree 
which had been cut off, and thought it was some 
sort of an (animal;) I called Mr. Yomans' attention 
to it and he said it was his molasses jug — that he 
had to keep everything hidden away as his house 
was constantly plundered. 

We went down the bayou until we came to the 
Savannah River; it was rushing down, carrying 
long and large trees; there was an overflow and it 
looked dangerous to cross in our little boat, and just 
as we were about to enter the river — and it all 
happened in less time than it takes me to write it — 
the boat ran on a cypress knee, and there she was 
fixed — on a pivot. Mr. Yomans said, "Gentlemen, 
keep quiet." I asked Mr. Yomans how far we 
were from dry land and I think he said about twelve 
miles. I told him I would keep quiet — that a can- 



246 










pp *i 


1 


> 1 




ri^^^H 



LIEUTENANT R. J. HOWARD 
MISSISSIPPI 



(Retired Merchant) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

non ball could not budge us. He attempted to back 
the boat off the cypress knee — off she came, and 
down she went, and Mr. Yomans caught a cypress 
knee and cried to us to look out for the boat which 
had sunk out of sight. Hatcher had also found a 
cypress knee and I got hold of a small tree. We 
formed a sort of triangle, I do not know how deep 
the water was — all of a sudden, the boat popped up 
by Mr. Yomans; he spied it and shoved one end of it 
over to me, and said that we would work the boat 
backward and forward, and thus get some of the 
water out of it, but after getting a little water out 
of the boat Mr. Yomans would slip off his perch, 
and she would fill again ; so we had to bail the boat 
with our hands — the water was cold and it took us a 
good while to do it, then Mr. Yomans told me to 
bear down on my end of the boat, we were up to 
our neck in water, and he would try to balance him- 
self on the cypress knee and get into the boat; he 
was successful in this, and after the water had run 
off his clothes he bailed the boat out and told us to 
get in. I told Hatcher that I was stronger than he — 
that he had better swim over to where I was and get 
in, because I thought that I could stand the water 
longer; I was almost frozen and exhausted. So 
Hatcher swam to where I was, I wrapped the chain 
of the boat around the little tree, hugged the chain 
and tree, and told Hatcher to get on my shoulder 
and then in the boat. I told him if he felt the chain 



247 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

going down to get off. Hatcher made several at- 
tempts but failed — he was very weak. Finally he 
told us that we would have to leave him, but after 
awhile he succeeded in getting into the boat; then 
I climbed up the tree and got in. We then started 
across and safely landed at a place or landing called 
"Red Bank." I gave Mr. Yomans my gloves, a 
handkerchief, the file and cold chisel, and told him I 
wished I could give him more. He said he did not 
charge us a cent — that he was glad to help us. We 
bade him good-bye, he went back home and I have 
never seen or heard of him since. 

We stopped at places in Georgia and got food, 
and whilst walking up the Georgia Central Railroad, 
we saw a Confederate Lieutenant whom- 1 knew in 
prison, whose name was Branch; we remained all 
night with him, and after a few more days of travel 
we reached Waynesboro; there we saw Rebel sol- 
diers with guns. We were taken to Augusta and 
carried before General Fry; he had been a prisoner 
and I knew him. We were ragged and muddy, 
clothes all torn and generally played out. Hatcher 
and myself stayed in Augusta for a week. Finally, 
one day I went down town and on my return was 
told by the landlady that Hatcher had been ordered 
to go to Richmond, and he told her to say good-bye 
to me, and that was the last I saw of him until I met 
him in Baltimore, as befoie stated. I remained in 
Augusta for several more days, and was ordered to 
go to the Trans-Mississippi Dept. 

248 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

After many hardships I finally reached Marshall, 
Texas, was assigned to a regiment there and sur- 
rendered. 

Thus, my dear brother, you have an account 
of our escape from Fort Pulaski; it may interest you, 
I have written hastily, and if you desire to use any 
of it, just put it in shipshape form. 

I wish you well and hope soon to have the 
pleasure of reading your work. I am, comrade, 
Trtdy yours, 
(Signed) W. E. Stewart, 

Easton Maryland. 



249 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



CHAPTER SIX 

Diary kept by Capt. A. M. Bedford, Third Missouri 
Cavalry, while on Morris Island, S. C, Prisoner 
of War at Hilton Head and Fort Pulaski. 

BEGINNING the 20th of August, 1864, six 
hundred officers, selected out of thirteen 
hundred, confined at Fort Delaware, are 
taken out of prison and placed on board the 
steamer "Crescent," bound for Hilton Head, S. C. 
Left the wharf at 3 p. m. All of said officers, except 
sick and wounded, are placed in the hull of ship 
nearly without air, and many in the dark, having a 
sickly and deadly smell. Ran until 7 p. m. An- 
chored in Delaware Bay. Lay at anchor all night. 

August 21st. — Weighed anchor 3 a. m. Ran 
to the mouth of Bay, arrived there at 8 a. m. An- 
chored waiting Convoy. Admiral Convoy arrived 
at 6 p. m., weighed anchor; ran all night. 

August 22d. — Continued on our journey. 

August 23d. — Continued on our journey. 
Very warm and sultry in our position. Men faint- 
ing occasionally. 

August 24th. — Ran on sand bar 3 a. m., off 
Cape Romain, S. C. Got off sand bar 8 a. m., 
after heaving overboard several tons of coal. 
Ran in sight of Charleston 4 p. m. Could see the 
Yankee fleet lying inside the bar; could see very 



250 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

distinctly the flash of the guns. We continued to 
run until 9 p. m. Anchored off the harbor of Port 
Royal, S. C. 

August 25th. — Took on a harbor pilot. Ran 
into the harbor, anchored off Hilton Head, 8 a. m. 
Lay at anchor the balance of the day. A beautiful 
day. Pleasant on upper deck, warm below. 

August 26th. — Still at anchor, a great deal of 
grape about exchange. Captain and pilot of ship 
arrested for running on sand bar. Another steamer 
came along-side. Had a court-martial to try said 
captain and pilot, don't know the result of their 
labors. The nights of the 25th and 26th, were the 
hottest nights we ever experienced, had to fan all 
night, and our shirts were wet with perspiration. 
Several men fainting, Capt. Henry Allen, Lieut. 
David Bronaugh, and Lieut. Carter (a young 
preacher). I should have mentioned the escape 
of Col. Woolfork, while on the bar on the morn- 
ing of the 24th; also that we are guarded by 157th 
Ohio Militia, and a company of deserters, command- 
ed by one Capt. Prentiss, an overbearing tyrannical 
rascal, who let his men pillage our baggage, rob men 
of all their clothes, and in one instance one of our 
men caught a Yankee stealing his hat. He was 
pointed out to this scoundrel, but he refused to 
make him give it up. He talked to men as though 
they were dogs. We would insist on going on 
deck for a little fresh air, but were denied the privi- 



251 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

lege. Sometimes we would be allowed to go up 
twenty-five at a tim.e. That did not more than 
answer for the calls of nature, as we had to go 
above for such business. We are subject to all 
insults that a lot of degraded men calling them- 
selves soldiers could offer and protected by the 
beast of a Captain commanding them. 

August 27th. — Capt. Prentiss, with militia and 
deserters relieved to-day by Capt. McWilliams, 
with a detachment of 157 New York, which was 
quite a relief to us. But not so to the old cook, who 
had been selling us hot water from 25 to 50 cents per 
coffee pot full, we would have ground coffee in them 
and it would have made weak coffee. As soon as 
our new Commander found it out he put a stop to 
it, and had water heated for us without price. Our 
new guard is as kind to us as men could be. They 
would do anything in their power to make us com- 
fortable. They had their orders from General 
Foster, and could not do much in that way. They 
always spoke respectfully to us, and no insults were 
offered from any of them. They told us they had 
smelt our powder, and some of them had tried 
Libby Prison, and they knew how to treat a pris- 
oner. 

August 28th. — Still at anchor. More grape 
about exchange, and going back to Fort Delaware, 
and many other reports. Weather clear and warni. 
Sergeant Smith goes ashore to buy something to 



252 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

eat, sugar, tea, coffee, tobacco, cigars, shirts, etc. 

August 29th. — No change, except being or- 
dered on deck once a day to clean out the ship and 
receive rations which consisted of a few hardtack, 
a very small piece of bacon or beef, not sufficient 
for one meal, but had to do us twenty-four hours. 

August 30th. — No change, except the sick and 
wounded (about forty), are sent ashore to Buford 
Hospital. 

August 31st. — No change, except Capt. com- 
manding received orders to have on full head of 
steam to be ready to start next morning by daylight. 

September 1st. — Steam up, all ready to move. 
The Captain refuses to start until he has read writ- 
ten orders, which was done about 10 a. m. Weighed 
anchor and left, we did net know where, but about 
sunset we crossed the bar off Charleston, ran in 
among the Yankee fleet and anchored. 

September 2d. — Still at anchor, all on tiptoe 
expecting to go right through to Dixie. Bought a 
gum cloth for $5.00, from J. E. Underhill, Company 
B. 157 New York. 

September 3d. — No change, but not in Dixie 
yet. The flag of truce went in this morning in full 
view of us, came out and went to sea, and then we all 
felt very fiat. 

September 4th. — Still at anchor and Mr. Grape 
is very busy, but I will not give any of his dis- 
patches. Bought a canteen for 60 cents and a ring. 



253 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

September 5th. — No change. Hot water to 
drink as usual. 

September 6th. — No change, except water a 
little hotter. Hot enough to make tea or burn our 
flesh when we spilt it on ourselves. We poured it 
from one cup to another to cool it, and make it wet 
a little. Some put it in the sea in a canteen, well 
stopped and it would soon be fit to drink. 

September 7th. — Rained last night. No water, 
except what each man could catch in his oilcloth 
during the rain last night up to twelve o'clock, at 
which time we were landed on Morris Island, and 
were received by the 54th Mass. Regt. (negro), we 
marched two and one-half miles along the eastern 
shore of the Island and many of our officers gave out 
owing to their confinement on the boat and want of 
rations. We passed in front of Fort Wagner, being 
then in between it and Fort Sumter, we continued in 
same direction, but a few hundred yards when we 
run into a pen made of pine poles planted in the 
ground, about twelve feet in length, making a sub- 
stantial picket fence with a parapet on it, and mount- 
ed thereon was a line of negro sentries, and on the 
ground another line of like sentries. Inside of said 
pen is a grass rope, about twenty feet from the 
fence, between this rope and fence we were told by 
the Colonel of said regiment, was certain death to 
any of us, except we were escorted by a Yankee 
officer. Inside of said rope are 160 A-tents. In 



254 




LIEUTENANT REV. T. S. ARMSTEAD 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

these we are put, four to the tent. The Yankees 
fired more than usual since we have been in hearing 
of this place, we suppose trying to draw fire from our 
batteries, but got no answer as yet. Weather clear 
and nice. I am in good health, but growing weak 
from shortness of rations. 

September 8th. — ^Was aroused this morning at 
daylight by the Colonel whipping one of his black 
Yankee soldiers for being asleep on the fence. The 
darky said he was not asleep, but just studying. 
At a little after sunrise in came the negro drummers 
and gave us a rousing reveille and then followed by a 
colored Sergeant, got us out in Hne, orders to left 
dress front, count us. Presently along came 
the Captain, a white man. The Sergeant saluted 
him, made his report. The Captain returned the 
salute, took down the report. The Sergeant orders 
to break ranks, march. This is gone through three 
times a day. 

September 9th. — No change in rations. Three 
roll calls or counts. Sutler came in, sold some 
ginger cakes, tobacco, and stationery, at an enormous 
price. Some of the Yankee officers told us they had 
official news that Atlanta was occupied by the 20th 
Army Corps and Generals Hardee and Finigin 
killed, and in the evening commenced firing solid 
shot. They said they were firing salutes, but after 
awhile we could see shells coming over us from 
Moultrie and other batteries, and we had quite a 



255 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

lively time all night. Shells passing each way over 
us. Two shells from Moultrie exploded over us, 
the pieces falling in among us, but no one was hurt. 
Two shells from Wagner exploded in the mouth of 
gun and the pieces whistled over us, but no one was 
hurt among us. Weather pleasant and dry. I am 
well and growing weak. 

September 10th. — As the Yankees are con- 
tinually boasting about how well they feed us, I will 
attempt to give a correct account of each meal. 
Roll call one and one-half hours by sun for break- 
fast, three crackers issued, one tablespoonful of 
rice. Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations for dinner, 
one-half pint bean soup, two crackers, wormy and 
full of bugs. Five o'clock roll call. Rations for 
supper, two ounces of bacon, two crackers, wormy 
as usual. Shelling from our mortars all last night 
bursting about the right place to do execution. 
Don't know what amount of damage done. Heard 
of one Yankee losing his leg, a horse shot under him 
during the day. All quiet with our batteries, but 
not so with Yankees. They commenced to shell 
early in the direction of Fort Sumter and Charleston. 
Weather clear and pleasant. I am well, but getting 
weak. 

September 11th. — Shelling from our mortars 
last night directed at Wagner. One piece of shell 
striking the fence around us. Six thirty a. m., roll 
call. Rations for breakfast, two crackers, very 



256 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

wormy and two ounces of very old salt beef (stink- 
ing). Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations for dinner, 
one-half pint of bean soup, two crackers (full of 
worms and bugs). A. J. Armstrong and myself 
had to pick out the worms before eating. An 
occasional shot has been fired at Charleston from 
Battery Gregg, up to noon to-day. Water full of 
wiggle-tails to-day. Five p. m., roll call. Rations 
old salt beef, two ounces, one cracker, wormy as 
usual. Some little firing last night from the Yankee 
batteries, but don't think they got any reply from 
ours. One gun kept up firing into Charleston at 
intervals of half an hour all night. 

September 12th. — Six thirty a. m., roll call. 
Rations for breakfast two ounces old salt beef, so 
badly spoiled that we could not eat half of it. Three 
crackers, musty and full of worms — not fit for hogs. 
One of our officers showed his rations of crackers to 
the Colonel in charge of us (Col. Hallowell, 54th 
Mass.). His reply was "Do you know that fifty of 
our officers are now in Charleston, in cells fed on 
bread and water?" The prisoners wished to know 
the reason. His reply was "Because they are 
Yankees." Weather warm and clear. I am well, 
but feel weak and hungry, falling off very fast. 
Can't buy what we want, it is forbidden. Twelve 
o'clock roll call. Rations for dinner, one and one- 
half pints of soup for four men (bean soup, very 
good). Two crackers as usual, very full of worms. 



257 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Very little cannonading going on to-day. Distant 
artillery firing going on west of us. We are not per- 
mitted to buy anything from the South, except 
tobacco and stationery, except on an order from 
Surgeon. Can get a little tea, imitation of coffee 
and sugar at 50 cents per pound; black tea at 75 
cents per one-quarter of pound. Half past six roll 
call. Rations, 2 ounces pickled pork (half done), two 
crackers, very wormy as usual. Weather clear and 
pleasant. I am well and think I can stand it. 

September 13th. — Some firing last night. Very 
windy, but clear and cool and a beautiful morning. 
Roll call. Rations two ounces of fat pickled pork, 
two crackers, musty and wormy. Twelve o'clock. 
Some distant firing in the west this morning. Roll 
call. Rations, two crackers, some better than usual, 
over one gill of soup, and two ounces of pickled pork. 
Half after six roll call. Rations, two crackers, two 
ounces of pickled pork each, good. Bought one- 
half gallon of syrup for two ($2.00) dollars, very good. 
I feel a great deal better. Beautiful evening, all 
quiet. Washday to-day. 

September 14th. — Some firing last night by the 
Yankees. Half after six roll call. Rations, two 
crackers, good, two ounces pickled pork, good, but a 
fat negro put it on our plates with his hands. 
Twelve o'clock, two crackers, one-half pint of thin 
soup. Six o'clock roll call. Rations two crackers, 
two ounces pickled pork (fat), and a little vinegar. 



258 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

We bought some tea and had some to-night. I 
feel first-rate, most well. Very beautiful day. All 
sorts of grape, which is not good for us. 

September 15th. — Occasional shot last night. 
Some distant firing this morning. All well. Roll 
call, half after six. Rations, one cracker, two 
ounces of pickled pork, good and very fat. Beautiful 
morning. Distant firing. Twelve o'clock roll call. 
Rations, two crackers, tolerable good, one-third of a 
pint of soup, very good. Firing occasionally by the 
Yankees. Been very warm and cloudy, with a 
sprinkle of rain. Six o'clock roll call. Rations, 
one cracker, hardly two ounces of meat, good. 
Wrote to my wife, very hungry, never any other 
way. Negro issues out the medicine, gives us our 
orders and we obey. Considerable firing, don't 
know whether our batteries replied or not. 

September 16th. — Half after six roll call. 
Rations, two crackers, one and one-half ounces 
pickled pork, both good. Am very hungry, every 
time I sleep I dream of something good to eat. 
Our men at Sumter, sharpshooting the Yankees at 
Gregg. All well. Negro put meat on our plates 
with his hands. Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, 
a little over a gill of cooked rice, one ounce meat. 
Starvation staring us in the face. Very weak. Reb- 
els shelling battery Gregg. Sharpshooting Yankees. 
Six o'clock. Evening rations, two crackers, two ounces 
pickled pork, good. Beautiful day, all well. Good 



259 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

grape, we will exchange shortly. Some little firing 
last night by the Yankees. 

September 17th. — Beautiful morning. All well. 
Six o'clock roll call. Rations, one ounce pickled 
pork, good, two crackers, a little wormy. Negro 
handles the meat with his hands. Twelve o'clock 
roll call. Rations, one-half pint bean soup, two 
crackers, a little wormy. Soup good. A fire in the 
direction of Charleston this evening, I suppose it is 
a house burning. Six o'clock rations, one gill of 
rice, two ounces of meat, good, two crackers, best 
meal we have had for a month, as we bought a little 
syrup at the rate of $4.00 per gallon, we also had a 
little black tea, paid 75 cents per one-quarter of 
pound. Some firing last night by the Yankees. 

September 18th. — Roll call. Rations one 
ounce of meat (or two mouthfuls), two crackers, 
wormy. All well, but we are weak from our 
treatment. Hope it will not last long. Twelve 
o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint of soup, 
two crackers, bugs and a few worms in them. This 
is the Sabbath. Very heavy rain. Read thirteen 
chapters in the Bible. Yankees fire occasionally at 
Charleston. Five o'clock rations, two ounces meat, 
one-half pint of rice and one cracker, very wormy. 
All well. A shot occasionally at Charleston last 
night, also this morning. 

September 19th. — All well. Pleasant morning. 
Roll call. Rations, two crackers, two otmces meat, 



260 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

gocxi. Some distant firing in the southwest. 
Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, one cracker, one- 
half pint of soup, good, crackers wormy. Some- 
times a shot from one gun to Charleston. Weather 
very warm and cloudy, and occasional sprinkle of 
rain. Six o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint 
scorched mush, two ounces pork, good. Hard 
living, hard treatment for a prisoner of war, taken 
in a civilized warfare, but by the help of God, we 
can stand it. All quiet last night. 

September 20th. — Warm and a little cloudy. 
All well. Six o'clock roll call. Rations, one cracker, 
the wormiest of them all, full of webs and bugs (not 
fit for hogs to eat), one ounce meat, good, but so 
little it will hardly sustain life. Who could have the 
heart to starve a man, but a Yankee. Very warm, 
cloudy, has the appearance of rain. Twelve o'clock 
roll call. Rations, one-half pint soup, good, two 
crackers, some wormy. Five o'clock roll call. 
Rations, two ounces pork, very fat, but good, one 
cracker, tolerably good. If they don't improve I 
don't think men can stand it. Rations too short. 
Yankee Colonel in to see us this evening, told us 
what he got in prison, said it was very rough. He 
was exchanged five or six weeks ago. The crackers 
we get will not make more than two good mouth- 
fuls, they are so small and thin. 

September 21st. — A good and gentle rain fell 
last night. Warm and cloudy this morning. All 



261 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

well. Half after six roll call. Rations, two ounces 
of meat, two crackers, both good. Benson made 
the negro Sergeant mad and he said "By Jesus 
Christ, I will satisfy this tent for once," so he gave 
us a double handful, at least two crackers apiece. 
That satisfied us and we wish he would get mad 
again. They handle the meat in their hands and 
the grease nms between their fingers, and makes a 
dirty sight for men to eat. Twelve o'clock roll 
call, one cracker full of worms and bugs (look like 
they were made ten years ago, not fit to eat by any 
one), one-half pint soup, good. Bought a pocket 
handkerchief for $3.00. A monitor has been firing 
on our batteries this evening, but no reply from the 
batteries. Very warm to-day. Five o'clock roll 
call. Rations, two ounces pork, good, one and one- 
half pint of soup for four men (soup and meat, a fine 
supper). 

September 22d. — Some firing last night by the 
Yankees. A nice shower of rain just before day. 
All well. Warm and cloudy. Half after six roll 
call. Rations two crackers, and two oimces of 
pork, both good. Excitement about leaving at 
half after ten. Orders to pack up. At eleven 
orders to start. We marched back the way we came. 
It appeared to be the longest two miles I ever 
traveled as I was so weak. We were placed on board 
the steamer "General Hooker" and from there to a 
schooner nearby. Half of the crowd on one and 



262 




CAPTAIN TOM C. CHANDLER 
VIRGINIA 



(Farmer) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

half on the other. We were told we could stay up 
on top until night, then we had to go in the hull. 
At three o'clock we got one cracker and nearly one- 
half pint of soup, both good, but it takes three 
times as much to satisfy our hunger. We got no 
supper. There were a few wormy crackers given out 
to some, but did not go half-way around. I did not 
get any. At night we were crowded into the hull, 
where we nearly smothered, could not sleep, and in 
the night here came a negro through both hatches 
and falling on two of our men, cripphng one tolerably 
bad. Every once and awhile some one would holler 
out as a big rat ran over them. Heard negroes 
quarrel. 

September 23d. — They soon issued one cracker, 
and one ounce of meat and in one hour we got two 
ounces of salt beef, and one cracker, said it was 
double rations, as we did not get supper. All well 
and a very warm day. Very anxious to know the 
result of the flag of truce. The boats in sight. 
Twelve o'clock and we were soon landed, many sad 
hearts. We waited an hour or two, then came 
rations, one-half pint of soup and one cracker, both 
good, but too small to fill up a man. About four 
o'clock we commenced our march back to our old 
stockade and about sunset we arrived, each man 
knowing his quarters, soon we had roll call and 
finding six men missing created some confusion in 
camp, but the Yankees soon telegraphed back to 



263 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

the boat and found them before dark. Rations, one 
cracker, one-half pint rice, two ounces pork, good. 
Last night we rested fine, being tired and sleepy. 
One gun kept up firing on Charleston all night and 
an occasional shot this morning. 

September 24th. — All well, except Armstrong 
had a spell of colic last evening and is not quite over 
it. Roll call. Rations, two ounces salt beef and one 
cracker, tolerable good. A nice day. Twelve 
o'clock roll call. Rations, one cracker, one-half pint 
of soup, good, cracker, very wormy. Five o'clock, 
three-quarters pint rice, two oimces pork, both good. 
Cloudy and a few drops of rain. Yankee Colonel 
in command, said this evening "throw all bones and 
worms out of your crackers into the sink barrel," 
it is a curious way to make sport over a starving 
people. 

September 25th. — Some firing last night by the 
Yankees. A beautiful morning, clear and cool. 
Half after six roll call. Rations, one cracker, wormy, 
two ounces pork, good, a hght breakfast, it makes 
me ask the question "Who will have these sins to 
answer for?" All well. This is the Sabbath. I have 
read thirty chapters in the Bible since last Sabbath. 
Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint of 
soup, not good, beans raw, two crackers, wormy. 
Some firing to-day, no respect for the Lord's day. 
Five o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint of 
rice, two ounces pork, good, rice without grease or 
sweetening. A beautiful and pleasant day. 

264 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

September 26th. — All well. A beautiful morn- 
ing, clear and pleasant. Some firing all night. 
They seem to be mounting more gims. I could hear 
them working nearly all night. Heard some small 
arms early this morning, think it the Rebels sharp- 
shooting the Yankees. Half after six roll call. 
Rations, one cracker, two ounces pork, both good. 
Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint of 
soup, three and one-half crackers for dinner and 
supper. Some firing to-day at the city. A nice 
day. New hopes of exchange. Five o'clock roll 
caU. Rations one-half pint rice, half done, two 
ounces of pork, good. 

September 27th. — All well. A beautiful morn- 
ing. Some firing last night at the city. Half 
after six roll call. Rations, two ounces pork with 
the promise of crackers at noon. Orders were 
issued yesterday for us to have four and one-half 
crackers per day giving them in the morning, so we 
see the order violated in the beginning. Crackers 
come five to the man, wormy. Twelve o'clock roll 
call. Rations, one-half pint soup. Five o'clock 
roll call. Rations, two ounces pork, good, one-half 
pint rice. Lieut. W. P. Callahan of the 15th Tenn. 
died last night. The first death out of the six him- 
dred. Bought three loaves of bread for three rings 
and feel like I have about enough to eat for some 
time. Capt. Buce went on special exchange to-day. 

September 28th. — All well. A beautiful morn- 



265 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ing. Half after six roll call. Rations, one and one- 
half ounces pickled beef. A dry breakfast to one 
that is use to better. We made a little coffee and 
had a loaf of bread and did very well. We have 
to be shifty. Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, 
one-half pint soup. Beans not done, five crackers, 
tolerable good. These crackers are for the day. 
Five o'clock roll call. Rations, two ounces pork, 
good and fat, one-half pint rice. A beautiful day. 
Firing is still kept up at the city from the Yankee 
guns. I will give the names of our officers at the 
hospital to-day. Lieut. Hunter, Capt. Logan of 
Kentucky, O. H. P. Calwell of Arkansas, Capt. 
Baker of Mississippi, A. Q. M., Lieut. Newton of 
Kentucky, Lieut F. P. Peake, of Kentucky. 

September 29th. — All well. A beautiful morn- 
ing, warm and pleasant. Firing kept up all night 
at the city, firing every ten or fifteen minutes. 
Half after six roll call. Rations, two ounces pork, 
very fat, some got salt beef. I feel Uke I had taken 
a light breakfast, but had a little imitation of coffee 
that I brought from sutler. We have to manage 
every way to sustain life. We had a nice shower 
of rain last night. Twelve o'clock roll call. Ra- 
tions, five crackers for the day, some worms, one- 
half pint soup. Lieut. Newton returned from the 
hospital to-day. Shelling the city has nearly ceased 
for the day, resting after shelling all night. Four 
o'clock all called up to see if they had our names 



266 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

right. Five o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half 
pint rice, very thin and poor. 

September 30th. — All well. Pleasant morning 
and cloudy, had a light sprinkle of rain last night. 
I forgot to say we got two ounces pickled beef last 
night. Firing kept up all night. Capt. Mason 
sent ofif on special exchange last evening. Nothing 
given us for breakfast. Nice shower of rain. 
Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, two ounces 
pickled beef, one-half pint bean soup, five crackers 
for the day. Four o'clock. Rations, one-half pint 
rice soup, one ounce pickled beef or two mouthfuls. 

October 1st. — All well, warm and pleasant. 
Had a nice shower last night. Understood two 
Yankees were killed the other day by a premature 
shell. Half after six roll call. Rations, two ounces 
beef. Lieut. Cargil went to the hospital last even- 
ing. Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, five crack- 
ers for the day, good. One half pint bean soup if 
the beans had been done. Lieut. Peake died in 
post hospital this morning. Shelling as usual to- 
day. Five o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint 
rice soup, three ounces bacon for night and morning. 

October 2d. — Nice morning, very warm. Re- 
bels shelled Gregg last night and did it in order, 
shells falling in the right place to do execution. 
Half after six roll call. Our rations have been re- 
ceived and very short. My appetite is never 
satisfied , always hungry. Can't sleep without dream- 



267 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

ing of something to eat. Twelve o'clock roll call. 
Rations, five crackers for the day, good, one-half 
pint bean soup, good. Five o'clock roll call. Ra- 
tions, four ounces pork for night and morning. 
One-half pint rice barely enough to keep soul and 
body together. This is the Sabbath. Read thirty- 
eight chapters in Ezekiel. This week has been ex- 
ceedingly warm. Another flag of truce meets to- 
morrow in our behalf. 

October 3d. — All well. Quite warm. A small 
sprinkle last night and a good shower to-day. Half 
after six roll call. No rations as we had received 
them. Flag of truce meet and are together yet. 
Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint 
soup, five crackers. No firing to-day or last night. 
All quiet. Rations, one-half pint of rice, three 
ounces beef for supper and breakfast. 

October 4th. — All well. Half after six roll call. 
No rations as they have been issued. Cloudy with 
a few drops of rain. Very warm, can sleep with- 
out cover. Twelve o'clock roll call. Rations, one- 
half pint soup, one cracker in place of five, both 
good. Five o'clock roU call. Rations, four ounces 
pork, good, one-half pint rice. 

October 5th. — All well. Very warm. Got our 
crackers which were four by hard coaxing. Half 
after six roll call. No rations, only the four crack- 
ers I spoke of, they were due the day before. Twelve 
o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint soup, four 



268 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

crackers, good, fell short one cracker, don't know 
why, unless they thought we had a plenty as we 
have just received three large wagon loads consist- 
ing of bread, smoking and chewing tobacco, sweet 
potatoes and some sweet cakes which were all very 
good, but the cooked potatoes had spoiled. We 
felt under many obligations to our South Carolina 
friends and glad to see the fair ladies and kind 
gentlemen of that State so patriotic. We received 
eleven hundred pounds of smoking tobacco and the 
same of chewing. Thirty sacks of bread and 
one thousand pipes and stems. Five o'clock roll 
call. Rations, none as yet, if it comes I will note it. 

October 6th. — All well. Our rations never 
came. We are cut short by receiving some provi- 
sions from Charleston. Half after six roll call. 
Rations, two ounces pork. Twelve o'clock, roll 
call. Rations, one-half pint soup, four and one-half 
crackers, both good. Sometimes a little vinegar, 
a little salt and soap occasionally. A blockade 
runner reported sunk on the bar last night. Five 
o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint rice, two 
ounces pork. A very warm day. Four and one- 
half crackers are for the day. I subscribed fifty 
dollars to the benevolent institution in Charleston 
to-day. 

October 7th. — All well. A very heavy rain fell 
last night. Quite warm. Half after six roll call. 
Rations, four ounces pork, nothing else. Twelve 



269 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

o'clock roll call. Rations, one-half pint soup, four 
and one-half crackers, for the day and a piece of 
soap, four men. Some firing at the city to-day. 
Every fifteen minutes a gun starts her deadly missile. 
Sutler in to-day. Had some molasses. Stationery 
men acted very greedy and unmanly. Five o'clock 
roll call. Rations, one-half pint rice. Washday 
to-day. The Rebels shelled the Yankees last night 
a great many bursting in the right place but after 
a while they began to burst too close to us. One 
shell bursted over us, part of the shell on one side 
and part on the other. 

October 8th. — All well. Half after six roll call. 
Rations, four ounces pork. Yankees shelled all last 
night throwing balls into the city every fifteen 
minutes. Very cool to-day. Twelve o'clock roll 
call. Rations, one-half pint soup, four and one-half 
crackers, both good. Five o'clock roll call. Ra- 
tions, one-half pint rice. Very cool this evening. 
Shelhng the city is carried on day and night with 
some new and heavy guns. 

October 9th. — Sabbath morning, very cool. 
Slept cold last night. All well. Half after six roll 
call. Rations, four ounces pork for the day, also 
four and one-half crackers, both good. Twelve 
o'clock roll call. Rations, hardly a half pint of 
burnt soup. We have to be shifty to sustain life, 
but think we can make it. Five o'clock. Rations, 
one-half pint rice. I have read sixty-one chapters 



270 




CAPTAIN GEORGE K. CRACRAFT 
ARKANSAS 
(Attorney at Law and Planter) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

in the Bible this week. Has been very cool all day. 

October 10th. — All well. Very cold last night. 
Got quite pleasant to-day. Half after six roll call. 
Rations, four ounces pork for the day. Twelve 
o'clock. Rations, one-half pint soup. About three 
crackers apiece to-day, short rations. Five o'clock. 
Rations, one-half pint rice. Getting cool to-night. 
Some firing kept up all day at the city. No reply 
from our batteries. 

October Uth. — ^All well. We were awakened 
to-day by our batteries firing on a Yankee Monitor. 
It appears the Monitor was sent out to stand picket, 
it got aground and by day break our men discovered 
it and opened fire on her for one-half hour when the 
Monitor got off by the help of high tide which was 
fortunate for her. They kept up fire on the city 
day and night. We see this evening quite a smoke 
in the city, must be a house burning. Rations this 
morning, four ounces pork for the day. Twelve 
o'clock. Rations, one-half pint soup, four and one- 
half crackers, both good. Five o'clock. One-half 
pint rice. A beautiful day. Warm and pleasant. 

October 12th. — All well. Beautiful morning. 
We asked Sergt. (negro) for salt, he said we could not 
get it as they were retaliating on us as their pris- 
oners could not get salt. Night before last the city 
was illuminated for what purpose I know not. Half 
after six. Rations, scant, four ounces pork for the 
day and instead of our crackers we got nearly one- 



271 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

half pint mush for the day. I understand some of 
our officers petitioned for it, I hope he will soon get 
his fill on the mush question. Twelve o'clock. Ra- 
tions, one-half pint soup. Five o'clock. One-half 
pint rice. It has been a beautiful warm day. Fir- 
ing has ceased to-day to some extent on the city. 
Old Capt. Boyd went out last evening, for what 
purpose I know not. Capt. Maston went out to- 
night but soon came in again. 

October 13th. — All well. A nice and pleasant 
morning. Firing kept up all night. Half after six, 
four ounces pickled beef for the day, one-half pint 
mush made out of musty meal and so full of bugs 
and worms it would not pay to pick them out, so I 
shut my eyes, swallowed all and wished for more, 
but would desire better quality (this is for the day) . 
To-day one Yankee was carried by, wounded at 
Gregg by our sharpshooters. At Sumter men 
swapping crackers for mush, two rations of mush 
is equivalent to one cracker. I think we have eaten 
a boat of condemned rations since we have been 
here and still they come. Will we ever find the 
end of them. Twelve o'clock, one-half pint soup, 
good. Five o'clock, one-half pint rice. Firing con- 
tinuous to-day in the city. 

October 14th. — All well. Washday. Beauti- 
ful morning. Half after six our rations change back 
to four crackers per day. No meat. Twelve o'clock 
one-half pint soup after dinner, meat four ounces 



272 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

pork. Five o'clock. Rations, one-half pint mush 
instead of rice. Wrote to wife yesterday. Cloudy 
this evening, looks like rain. A plenty of grape 
about exchange. 

October 15th. — All well. A fine warm morn- 
ing. Rations for the morning, four ounces pork. 
Twelve o'clock, mush again, one-half pint for the 
day in place of bread. Some men counted one hun- 
dred and forty worms to the rations, others fifty. 
I never counted them, would not pay to take them 
out. I know there were plenty of them. Some 
men traded their rations of mush for a cracker, 
others gave it for a half cracker, some few threw it 
away. I and many others ate it and wished for 
more. Five o'clock. Rations, one-half pint rice. 
Firing continues day and night in the city. 

October 16th. — All well. Nice Morning. Sab- 
bath day. Firing continues. Half after six. Ra- 
tions, two ounces pork and beef, one and one-half 
crackers. Glad to know the mush failed as it was 
poor stuff with worms and without salt. Twelve 
o'clock. One-half pint soup, five crackers. What 
has taken place I know not. We have received 
six and one-half crackers in place of one-half pint 
of wormy mush. A small quantity of salt was 
issued to-day. It was beginning to bear a good 
price as much as one dollar and half per pint. Offi- 
cers came in to-day and we were called up in line 
to issue rations. These officers superintended the 



273 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

affair and said salt was issued every day and it was 
the fault of our wardens that we didn't get it. I 
believe my part of it. We had some vinegar and 
some soap issued to-day. Five o'clock. One-half 
pint rice very wormy, crackers and meat, good. 
Rations of meat, very small. One ration was a- 
bout two good mouthfuls. This has been a day long 
to be remembered. Starvation has looked us fair- 
ly in the face. I have laid down at night and 
thought what will I come to. Shall I starve here ? 
I have hoped and prayed for better days. I have 
prayed for my enemies that their hearts might be 
softened. I believe my prayers have been heard and 
answered. I am encouraged still to trust in God and 
all will be well. I have finished reading the Bible 
through twice since a prisoner. Have read thirty - 
three chapters this week. 

October 17th. — All well. Heavy shelling last 
night. The Yankees shelling Sumter, Sullivan Is- 
land and the city. The Island batteries replied 
vigorously throwing the shells very accurate for 
a while, but soon lost range and began to throw 
them too close to be healthy. Some shells bursting 
over us and the pieces falling all around us and we 
fearful to move as the sentinels would fire on us 
if we came out, so we had to stand it. It is an 
awful situation to be in. I have been under fire 
many a time, but never before on quarter rations 
and double fire. My trust is in God. If I die I 



274 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

die in the Lord. If I am killed the Lord shortens 
my days of trouble, although I enjoy life as well as 
any one and will keep my lamp trimmed and burn- 
ing and wait on the Lord. Half after six. Rations, 
four ounces beef and five crackers, both good. 
Twelve o'clock. One-half pint soup. Five o'clock. 
One-half pint rice. Weather cloudy and cool. 
Firing continues this evening. Some fighting with 
small arms last night. Sutler came in to-day. 
Orders were given to fall into ranks. One man 
did not obey soon enough. When the officer told 
the sentinel to fire at him, which he did but missed 
him. The ball passing and into the ground near a 
tent. 

October 18th. — All quiet last night, something 
uncommon, and very little firing to-day. Half after 
six. Rations, four ounces salt beef, five crackers, 
both good. I said beef was good, but it was spoiled. 
Twelve o'clock. One-half pint soup, very good. 
Five o'clock. One-half pint rice. A cloudy, damp 
day, raining a little. We saved our rice for dinner 
next day, one piece of fat meat and we have a tin 
bucket that holds five pints we boil them in it and 
make a soup. With what we draw makes a tolera- 
ble meal with one cracker, then we have two for 
supper and two for breakfast. We make a little 
tea for supper and have coffee for breakfast, or 
imitation, and our meat and make out very well. 
We have to pay very high prices for everything 
we buy and hard to get at that. 

275 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

October 19th. — All well. Some little firing last 
night by the Yankees. No reply from our batteries. 
A beautiful day. Plenty of good news. To-day's 
papers say Gen. Price is at Boonville, Missouri, and 
his cavalry north of the river. Federals concen- 
trating at Macon City. I finished a long letter to 
Mrs. Bedford to-day, six pages interlined. No ra- 
tions until twelve o'clock, then five crackers and 
three ounces of pork, both good. Five o'clock. 
Mush, one-half pint and full of worms as usual. We 
have three roll calls daily. I will leave off morn- 
ing, then if any change takes place will name it. 
It is generally believed Sherman will have to fall 
back from Atlanta as our cavalry is playing havoc 
with the railroad in his rear. 

October 20th. — All well. Some shelling last 
night. Yankees commenced about dusk shelling 
our batteries. Ours soon replied, throwing shells 
about the right place. About nine o'clock all was 
quiet and remained so up to this evening. No ra- 
tions at half after six. At twelve, four ounces pork, 
five crackers, very good, one-half pint soup, good. 
Five o'clock, three days rations issued. We are 
going to leave to-morrow, so they say. I hope so. 
Rations, fifteen crackers and a pound of pork for 
three days. 

October 21st. — All well. Beautiful morning. 
Yankees shelled heavy last night, trying to draw 
a fire from our batteries on us. Rebels too smart. 



276 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

We got orders the other night to fall in at roll eall 
with our baggage. We asked permission to start 
fire by daylight which was granted by the Col. 
(order came through the Sergt.). At light one 
man went to the barrel to get water and was going 
to have his coffee in time, but a negro says, "Halt, 
go back' ' and at the same time, bang went his gun, 
missing the one aimed at and hitting two others, 
one on the knee, the other on the shoulder, but no 
one seriously injured. A narrow escape, only one 
tent between the wounded men and ours. One of 
the wounded was asleep. We left at six o'clock 
walked to the lower part of the island and were 
placed on board two schooners in the hull, two 
hundred and seventy men to the schooner. The 
sick and wounded went on steamer that had us in 
tow. These schooners had very comfortable bunks, 
but dark. We did very well as we were guarded 
by the 157th New York and could buy hardtack 
a little from the boat crew. It was nearly night 
before we got under headway. They said they 
were waiting for the tide to come in so they could 
get over the bar. Ran very slow all night and 
morning. 

October 22d. — A nice morning, quite cool. 
Eight o'clock arrived at our destination, Fort Pu- 
laski, Georgia off Savannah, anchored out from the 
wharf, lay there nearly all day when the other 
schooner was landed and prisoners went ashore. 



277 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Our schooner remained all day and all the next 
night. Very impatient. 

October 23d. — This is a mistake. The first 
schooner was unloaded on this evening 23d, ours 
24th at about two o'clock, many of us on board the 
vessel three days and nights. Had fine, cool, dry 
weather. I did not think to name the woimded men. 
Capt. Harris and Capt. Blair are their names. I 
received two letters to-day, one from Clasby and 
one from my wife. Oldest daughter sick. Got two 
crackers last night and nearly a pint of rice soup. 
Was told these crackers were for night and morning. 
We being very hungry ate all. 

October 25th. — Rations, two ounces meat. 
Three of our mess have very bad colds. A beauti- 
ful morning. I forgot to name three of our men 
tried to make their escape while on the boat the 
night before landing by sawing through the hull 
of the boat in three feet of the water, one got out 
but was about to drown when he cried out for help. 
Only one was overboard besides the drowning 
man. He had to go to his help and no more tried 
it as the alarm was given. Our meat we ate with- 
out anything else. At dinner we got two -thirds of 
pint of rice soup, eight crackers. A probability of 
living better. We have great room for improve- 
ment. I am very hungry and weak with headache, 
feel half sick. A great deal grape rumored about 
exchange. Nothing given for supper. 



278 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

October 26th. — Slept well last night, feel much 
better this morning. Roll call three times a day. 
Half after six. Rations, two ounces pork. Twelve 
o'clock. Two-thirds of a pint slop called soup and 
six crackers, not good. They promise us ten ounces 
pork and soft bread every other day. The pork 
every day and bread every other. Fourteen ounces 
and twelve ounces hardtack every other day. We 
get nothing for supper. We nearly starve. 

October 27th. — A nice morning. Very many 
have bad colds. I feel very weak, but hearing good 
news from Missouri I can stand a great deal more. 
Roll call three times a day. Rations for break- 
fast, two ounces pork. Twelve o'clock. Two- 
thirds of pint of soup, but did not go around. I 
did not get any so I live on crackers, but the Lord 
will provide. We got nine hardtacks. We get 
no supper to-night. Quite cloudy, I think it will 
rain. 

October 28th. — All well. Nearly clear. Rained 
a little shower last night. Received a letter from 
home. All well. Half after six. Rations, four 
ounces bacon. Twelve o'clock. Twelve crackers 
and nearly a pint of rice soup. Our rations greatly 
improved. We made a little coffee and did admira- 
bly. No rations for supper. 

October 29th. — All well. I mean my mess of 
four men. Nice day. Rations, meat five ounces, 
good, twelve crackers, a little wormy. Twelve 



279 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

o'clock. Two-thirds of pint thin bean soup. Very 
indifferent. Washday. Some of our officers went 
out to the sutler's store this evening with the guard. 
The sutler began to ask too much for his goods. 
When a tin cup was priced at twenty cents the 
guard told him fifteen cents was the price. Sutler 
said he had the right to ask what he pleased for 
his goods. The guard told him he had been a 
prisoner and knew how to treat gentlemen. One 
word brought on another and soon a fight ensued 
whereupon the guard gave him a complete thrash- 
ing. 

October 30th. — All well. A nice morning. 
Quite cool. This is the Sabbath day. Half after 
six. Pork, three ounces. Twelve o'clock. One pint 
rice and nine crackers. Nothing for supper. A 
nice, warm evening. The Yankees had preaching 
in sight this evening. Wrote two letters to-day, 
one to Cousin Zerelda Howard and one to Bohart. 

October 31st. — All well. Washday. Wrote 
two letters, one to Lieut. S. R. Selecman and one 
to Cousin Lizzie Russell. Seven o'clock. Three 
ounces fresh beef. Twelve o'clock. One pint bean 
soup, good, ten crackers with some worms. Had a 
fight to-day between Capt. Logan and Hamnock. 
No one hurt serious. 

November 1st. — Cloudy, damp day. Seven 
o'clock. Rations, three ^ ounces beef and pork. 
Twelve o'clock. A loaf of soft bread. The first 



280 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

we have had for a long time. Weighed three 
eighths of pound, could eat it all as it was very good. 
Our rations of soup was short to-day from some 
unknown cause. Got about one-half pint, others 
got one pint good soup. Nothing for supper. 
Quite cool this evening. 

November 2d. — All well. Cloudy, damp day. 
Rations, at eight o'clock, six ounces bacon, good. 
Two o'clock, one loaf bread, nearly a pint of soup, 
both very good. I could eat twice as much as I 
got. Hope the day will come when I can eat my 
fill, then I will not be studying about eating all the 
time. 

November 3d. — All well and raining. Quite 
cool. Eight o'clock. Six ounces bacon, good. 
Twelve o'clock. One pint rice, one loaf bread, 
both good. A great many boxes received this even- 
ing by flag of truce for the prisoners, will be dis- 
tributed to-morrow. It has been a very disa- 
greeable day. 

November 4th. — All well. Cloudy and cool. 
Eight o'clock. Short rations, four ounces bacon. 
Good news from Hood's army. All excited this 
morning. Also good from Gen. Lee. Two o'clock. 
One pint vegetable soup, one loaf bread. 

November 5th. — All well. Lieut David Bro- 
naugh came into the mess. Coulter withdrew. 
Weather clear and cold. Eight o'clock. Fresh 
beef, four ounces. Two o'clock. One loaf of bread, 



281 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

one pint rice, musty, bread, good. Clear and pleas- 
ant this evening. 

November 6th.— The Sabbath. All well. A 
nice day. Plenty of grape about exchange. Wrote 
to my wife to-day and to Cousin Zerelda Howard. 
Eight o'clock. Rations, four ounces bacon. Two 
o'clock. One pint pea soup, one loaf of bread. 

November 7th. — All well. Nice washday. 
Eight o'clock, six ounces fresh beef. Two o'clock. 
One pint rice, one loaf of bread. 

November 8th — All well. The day for the 
election. Abe will be elected, I think. Eight 
o'clock. Six ounces beef and bacon. Cloudy and 
warm, with a little rain. Two o'clock. One pint 
grits or hominy, half done, one loaf bread, good, too 
small though for a ration. 

November 9th. — All well. A nice day. We 
scoured up the casemate to-day. Eight o'clock. 
Four ounces bacon. Two o'clock. One pint pea 
soup, ten crackers, wormy, soup very thin, but 
tastes well. 

November 10th. — All well. Warm and pleas- 
ant. Cloudy and looks like rain. Eight o'clock. 
Rations, fresh beef, six ounces. Heavy guns have 
been fired to-day. Suppose it is at Savannah. Two 
o'clock. One loaf of bread, nearly a pint of rice. 
We have four roll calls per day. Late in the even- 
ing. Some firing yet. 

November 11th. — Very cold and cloudy this 



282 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

morning. All well. Eight o'clock. Rations, six 
ounces of good bacon. I wrote to my wife after 
my box to-day, also wrote to Miss Anna Thompson. 
Two o'clock. Ten crackers and nearly a pint of 
meal brand soup. 

November 12th. — All well. Clear and cold. 
Eight o'clock. Eight oimces pork, best meat ra- 
tion we have received for a long time. Two o'clock. 
One loaf bread, good, nearly a pint rice soup. It 
has moderated and a beautiful day. Lieut. Bumey 
died this morning, disease, Chronic Diarrhoea. He 
is a Georgian. Lieut. Couper of the 33d North 
Carolina, died at Morris Island. 

November 13th. — All well. Clear and very 
cool. Lieut. Fitzgerald, Va. (crazy), died this morn- 
ing from being exposed, having no blankets and 
taking no care of himself. Eight o'clock. Eight 
ounces bacon, good. Only three roll calls per day 
now. Done away with one. Two o'clock. Ten 
crackers, good, nearly a pint of rice soup. We get 
all the the soap we want, but our facilities for wash- 
ing are bad having no way to heat water. Have 
to wash in cold water and dry the best we can. 

November 14th. — All well. Clear and cold. 
Washday to-day. Eight o'clock. Six ounces fresh 
beef. Two o'clock. One loaf bread, nearly a pint 
of com brand soup. Scorched our bread. Does 
for two small meals or one large one. 

November 15th. — All well. Cloudy. Eight 



283 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

o'clock. Six ounces pork, very fat and good. Two 
o'clock. One pint rice, one loaf bread, not well 
done, but very good. A nice evening. 

November 16th. — All well. Clear and beauti- 
ful day. Eight o'clock. Seven ounces bacon, good. 
Two o'clock. Nearly a pint pea soup and one loaf 
bread. Good iron doors arrived to fence us off from 
the Yankees. Lieut. Bryan died at Buford Hos- 
pital, Hilton Head, S. C, several weeks ago, have 
just learned the fact. Six out of our number that 
left Fort Delaware have gone the way of all the 
earth. 

November 17th. — All well. A nice day. 
Eight o'clock. Fresh beef, six ounces. Two 
o'clock. One loaf bread, one pint rice. This day 
eighteen months ago I was taken prisoner. 

November 18th. — All well. A nice day. 
Eight o'clock. Six ounces pork, very fat and good. 
Two o'clock. One loaf of bread, good, one pint 
slop called soup, made of com brand. Iron gate 
taken down to-day that was put up between us. 
The gates that were put up between us and the 
Yankees yet stand, 

November 19th. — All well. Rained last night. 
Foggy this morning with a little rain. Eight 
o'clock. Seven ounces pork, fat and good. Two 
o'clock. All excitement about leaving roll call. 
About one hundred and fifty called out to leave. 
Many conjectures about where we were going. 



284 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

In about an hour fifty more were called, I being 
among the last fifty. Rations, one loaf bread, 
two-thirds of pint of mush or grits, not good, only 
for the hogs. About four we were called out to 
leave for our new home, knowing not where it 
would be, but soon ascertained we would go to Hil- 
ton Head. About four o'clock we left the wharf, 
at about seven anchored off Hilton Head. 

November 20th. — All well. Left two of our 
mess behind. Rained last night. I slept fine, was 
not crowded. It is a cloudy, disagreeable day. We 
were guarded by 144th New York Volunteers, 
treated very well only got no rations on the boat 
at three p. m. We went ashore, marched one-half 
mile to our old Morris Island tents, three men to 
the tents. About dark the sound of coffee was 
given. We got over a pint of good coffee, a 
pint of sugar to three men and made out very well. 
Wanted meat and other things. Eight o'clock p. m. 
Roll call and then for bed. We made our bed 
down on the wet ground, having oilcloth to go under 
us and rested well. 

November 21st. — All well. Still rainy and 
foggy- RoU call at seven. At eight, coffee again. 
I should have said we got twelve crackers to the 
man last night. Our mess is P. H. Benson, Wm. H. 
Allen and myself (A. M. Bedford). Wrote a letter 
home to-day. 

November 22d. — All well. Clear and very 



285 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

cold. Slept cold last night. Many of our officers 
nearly froze as they had no blankets. I loaned 
one of mine to Capt. Hodges of Virginia. We 
have four roll calls per day. Eight o'clock roll call. 
Rations, one pint of good coffee, nine crackers. 
Two o'clock. Over a pint of good bean soup, a- 
bout one and one-half ounces pickled pork. Last 
night we got a pint coffee. One ounce pickled beef, 
one pint coffee to-night, and twelve crackers issued 
for the coming day. 

November 23d. — All well. Clear and very 
cool. Slept with my blankets on last night and like 
to froze. Rations very short here. Ice one-half 
inch thick this morning. Twelve o'clock. Soup 
made of grits or fine hominy and crackers. One- 
half ounce pickled pork, very fat. We got a pint 
of coffee this morning, the best we will have issued 
to us. We will have to buy all we get. I under- 
stand we will not be allowed to receive any box or 
money coming from our friends now. Had coffee 
of our own make to-night. 

November 24th. — All well. Clear and cold. 
Slept with clothing on last night and got very cold. 
Had some coffee of our own. Ice three-fourths 
inch thick. A beautiful day. Inspection to-day. 
No one came to inspect us. Washday with me. 
Two o'clock. One pint of good bean soup, but very 
thin, two ounces pork, fat and good. They say 
they give us one-fourth pound before cooked. Five 
o'clock. Fifteen crackers for two days. 

286 




COLONEL E. M. S. LE BRITON 
LOUISIANA 



(Attorney at Law) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

November 25th. — All well. Another beauti- 
ful morning. Very cold last night. I slept with 
my clothing on and nearly froze. Yankees will 
not give us blankets nor allow us to receive money 
to buy them, no boxes allowed. We had a little 
coffee and molasses of our own and a few crackers 
left, which made our breakfast. Had considerable 
frost last night. Two o'clock. One pint soup, 
two ounces pork. 

November 26th. — A nice morning. Excite- 
ment about moving into quarters in town. About 
eleven, we moved down, halted inside of barracks. 
Roll call and kept us there until half after four 
p. m., then put in quarters, room like staterooms 
on a steamboat six and one-half by six and two 
bunks, four men in a room. No rations to-day. 
Always save a day's rations by moving us. Our 
building is two stories high. The hospital is above 
us. Our door is made of thick slats about two 
inches apart with a padlock hanging to it. I 
don't think the key was turned on us. 

November 27th. — All well. After a long time 
roll call and our rations, ninety-seven loaves to 
one hundred and nine men, one pint coffee noth- 
ing else. I want meat. Allen and I bought us a 
pair of blankets on the 25th, gave twelve dollars 
for them. A beautiful Sabbath day. We were 
kept from going out until eight o'clock, one at time. 
Two o'clock. One pint soup, very thin. Two 
roll calls per day. 

287 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

November 28th. — All well. Nice day. Twelve 
crackers issued, four ounces pickled beef. Two 
o'clock. Over a pint of thin pea soup. Received 
a letter from my wife and one from Joe Bennett. 
Wrote home to my wife. 

November 29th. — All well. A beautiful day. 
Five men missing at roll call this morning. I will 
give their names to-morrow. Rations, two ounces 
pickled beef. Eight crackers. Yankees excited 
about the men being missing. One o'clock. One 
pint bean soup, very thin. Roll call four times 
to-day. Yet we find six men missing. 

November 30th. — All well. A lovely day, 
clear and warm. Grape about going back in tents 
this morning. Names of men missing, Col. Folk, 
Capts. Campbell and Perkins, Lieuts. Martin, 
Casson and Brinkley. I hope they are in Dixie and 
freed from Yankee tyranny. Rations, three ounces 
pickled pork and bacon, ten crackers. One o'clock. 
Three ounces bacon, in place of soup. Col. Folk 
and Capt. Perkins recaptured. We are guarded 
very close, sentinels walking in our house day and 
night. 

December 1st. — All well. A beautiful day. 
Yankees had a fight yesterday with the Rebels at 
the Long Bridge, ten miles from Savannah. I think 
they got a good grubbing. We hear all sorts of news. 
Eight o'clock. Rations, three ounces meat, ten 
crackers. I hear they have all the men but one 
that tried to make their escape. 

288 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

December 2d. — All well. Nice weather. They 
have recaptured all the men now. Yankees did 
get a whipping. Rations, three and two-third 
loaves of bread |to four men. One pint rice and 
three ounces meat for the day. 

December 3d. — ^All well. Same amount of 
bread, soup and meat for the day. 

December 4th. — All well, except colds. Three 
of us have a dry, hacking cough. Cloudy and warm, 
I think it will rain. Rations, loaf of bread the same 
as usual. Had some important business on hands 
but did not attend to it. 

December 5th. — All well. Clear and pleasant. 
Been quite dry for two weeks. They continue to 
fight in the direction of Savannah. We can hear 
the artillery every day. Our rations are the same 
daily. 

December 6th. — All well. Received a letter 
from Cousin Z. Howard. I answered it. Still 
hear firing in the same direction. Rations the 
same. Meat rations, less two ounces per day, 
after cooked is a big estimate. Delightful weather. 

December 7th, — All well, except colds. Ben- 
son complaining of one of his ears. Fighting con- 
tinues in the direction of Savannah. Rations, the 
same salt beef, hardly fit for dogs to eat. Seven 
wounded men and three well men brought in here 
to-day, say they have a tolerable hot fight, that is, 
one of the three men captured. Nice weather. I 
wrote home to my wife to-day. 

289 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

December 8th. — All well. Benson complain- 
ing of his ear, nearly all have bad colds. A delight- 
ful day. Meal issued to-day in place of bread. 
About one and one-half pints to the man. Meal 
not good, wormy. 

December 9th. — All well. Quite a sudden 
change, very cool. Loaf bread and meat as usual. 
Very windy. A few Rebel prisoners brought in 
this evening. They say Sherman is getting close 
to Savannah, Ga. I think he will have a rough 
time before he gets there. One of the wounded men 
brought in died last night, one of them is blind, 
being shot through both eyes. 

December. 10th. — All well. Very cold this morn- 
ing. How do men do without blankets? I nearly 
froze with two over me and one under and a gum 
cloth. We have no fire, only a little in the yard 
for cooking purposes. Only twenty allowed out at 
the time from each division one hundred each, that 
is the fiftieth man. They give us no blankets nor 
fire. Our prison is getting worse. Received a letter 
from Bohart to-day, he is one of my best friends. 
Rations as usual. Answered Bohart's letter. Our 
meat rations are very slim, hardly two ounces after 
cooked. Very cold for this climate. 

December 11th. — All well. Rained all last 
night. No meat to-day. Soup at twelve, one pint, 
very poor. We do our own cooking, but have noth- 
ing to cook to make a good meal. This is the Sab- 



290 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

bath and as we have no fires the house is so cold we 
can't read. Our house is a mere shell and so damp. 
Every one has colds. Wrote to Sister Lucy in Cali- 
fornia. 

December 12th. — All well. Very cold weather. 
We suffered severe to-day. All slept cold. Col. 
Manning talked to the provost-marshal about our 
treatment but did not affect anything. Hardly 
any meat issued to us. We shivered all day, could 
not exercise as we were under a hospital with our 
sick and woimded and can't go out doors only 
twenty at a time and have to do our cooking out 
there. I can't do the subject justice. 

December 13th. — Benson not very well to-day, 
has a very bad cold. Clear and cold. Slept some 
warmer last night. Prepared for it. Rations, about 
as usual. A loaf of bread and some crackers. 
Some heavy firing in the direction of Savannah. 

December 14th. — All well. Pleasant weather. 
All excited about leaving for exchange. The sick 
and wounded, about forty out of two hundred, were 
taken. Continual firing to-day. Washday. Ra- 
tions as usual. 

December 15th. — All well, except colds and a 
continual coughing, tickling in the throat. Some 
firing this morning. Clear and pleasant. No sut- 
ler has been allowed to come around and sell us 
anything for several days. Another screw loose 
somewhere. Our rations very short and not al- 
lowed to buy anything. 

291 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

December 16th. — All well, but continue to 
cough. Just got over a coughing spell. Some firing 
this morning in same direction. Weather warm and 
beautiful. No meat issued to-day. Yankees learn- 
ing us to do without eating. Some Yankee officers 
made their escape from Columbus, S. C, and came 
in a few days ago, give as bad account as possible, 
but can't come up to ours. We learn Hood is be- 
sieging Nashville, Tenn. 

December 17th. — All well. Weather beautiful. 
No meat to-day. We had a little grits for dinner, 
very nice, boiled without meat. Three and one- 
half loaves of bread to four men. This is our day's 
ration. Who can love a Yankee, after such treat- 
ment? All quiet to-day in direction of former dis- 
turbances. We got one-tenth pint grit, that is a 
a pint to ten men. Who can live on that? 

December 18th. — ^All well. Weather beauti- 
ful. This is the Sabbath. Some firing. No news. 
That is generally the way when there is nothing 
good for the Yankees. No meat to-day. Bread 
as usual. Nothing else yet. I wrote to my wife. 
Received a letter from her also. Wrote one to 
CaUfomia. L. M. Lewis at Richmond, Va. 

December 19th. — All well. Beautiful weather. 
No meat yet, some grits. Hear we will be reduced 
to bread and water, nearly at that now. Washday. 
No firing to-day. 

December 20th. — All well. Beautiful morn. 



292 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Thirteen guns fired in honor of Gen. Sherman and 
staff and Admiral Dalgrun and staff, both of these 
notable characters are here so the Yankees say. 
Nothing but bread to-day. Three and one-half 
loaves to four men. More Yankee officers coming 
in to-day having made their escape from prison, 
Columbus, S. C. Cloudy this evening and turning 
cold fast. 

December 21st. — All well. Wind got to the 
south and moderated. Bread and water are our 
rations now. We had corn meal issued to-day. 
They say we will get ten ounces corn meal and four 
ounces bread per day and some pickle in the place 
of meat or molasses. Can man live on corn meal 
and pickle? No way to bake it, nothing to cook in,, 
and no wood to burn. We are without fire in art 
open barn of a house eighty feet long and twenty - 
five feet wide for one hundred and eight men. 
Seventeen of these have been sent South and ten 
out of the other building making twenty-seven, not 
as many as I first supposed. Wind in the north 
getting very cold. 

December 22d. — All well. Like to froze last, 
night. It is giving us all very bad colds. I think 
it the coldest night we have had. We have a frying 
pan. Made up our meal after sifting out the wevil 
and when the bread was done it was crumbed up 
like it was for chickens. It would not turn. We 
had some coffee without sugar. Our bread and a 



293 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

few pickles constituted our breakfast. It ate very- 
good to us. The sutler is in this morning. The 
first time for two weeks or ten days. Some of 
Sherman's men arrived here last night, discharged 
and going home. They say Savannah is closely 
invested by Sherman's men and will soon fall, as 
they have Fort McCallister and have opened com- 
munication with the sea. 

December 23d. — All have very bad colds. Had 
to get up four times last night with cramp in my 
legs, it nearly killed me. I have enough cold to 
kill common men, men of dehcate constitution. 
Savannah has been evacuated by our troops. 

December 24th. — All complaining and cough- 
ing. I feel Hke having a spell of sickness. Bread 
and water continues to be our rations with a few 
pickles. We eat twice a day. We have nothing 
to cook in, but a frying pan. Sometimes we get a 
little green wood and make a little coffee, which 
without sugar, makes our meal. They don't allow 
us to receive anything from our friends, money, 
clothing, eatables, blankets, nor anything that adds 
to our comfort. We are for retaliation and they are 
using us. Fifty of our officers and 600 privates 
came in to-day, captured near Savannah. It has 
moderated considerable. I go to bed to-night feel- 
ing very bad. 

December 25th. — Christmas morning and the 
Sabbath. All feel better of their colds. A dreary 



294 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Christmas for us. Our breakfast was cofiEee, with- 
out sugar, and com bread without grease, baked in 
our frying pan. Coffee cost us 70 cents. We had 
some pickle. Some ate while others refused. We 
have slept with our clothes on for three or four nights. 
Wrote home to my wife. 

December 26th. — Our colds not so well, more 
tight. We have taken more cold since we have been 
here than we ever did before in the length of time. 
Had a nice rain last night, and the appearance of 
more to-day. We washed on the strength of some 
grape of leaving in a day or two for another prison. 
Rations continue the same — bread and water. Our 
Provost-Marshal gone to the field (Joseph T. Pratt). 
Our present one Maj. Thompson. 

December 27th. — We continue to bark. Cold 
very tight. I never slept any last night until four 
this morning, thinking of our condition and things 
generally. It has cleared off and moderated and 
we have a beautiful day. Some grape about ex- 
change. We still have three roll calls per day. Our 
division has 111 men in it. House 80 feet long, 24 
feet wide, doors closed from one-half hour by sun, 
till sun up in morning. We are in close confinement. 
Twenty allowed out at a time to cook. A great 
rush of a morning. Hard-hearted wretches. 

December 28th. — Lieut. Eakin sick. Weather 
warm and raining. Had a hard time to get our 
breakfast this morning, such as it was. Our rations 



295 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

continue bread and water. Sherman's men threw 
their meat to our boys, after they were stopped 
handing it over. We kept hearing bad news from 
Hood's army, enemy captured 17,000 prisoners, 21 
General Officers and 51 pieces of artillery. 

December 29th. — Clear and beautiful, but very 
cold, nearly as cold as a few days ago. Our break- 
fast consisted of corn bread, without salt or grease, 
baked in a frying pan, coffee, without sugar, and 
pickle. That any one knows is fine living. All 
better this morning. 

December 30th. — All getting better of their 
colds. Clear and moderated, a beautiful evening. 

December 31th. — All still cough. Turning very 
cold. Weather clear. We have the privilege of all 
being out during the day, which is a great privilege, 
more than we have had for sometime. We are 
closed up half hour by sun, and opened about the 
same time next morning. Our officers were talking 
the other night, when the negro guard ordered them 
to hush them damned lies or he would do some 
shooting. They spoke a few words like they did not 
hear. He brought down his gun and told them to 
dry-up, which they did. 

January 1st, 1865. — A very cold morning, but 
clear. Our rations issued to-day for five days, corn- 
meal and pickles, is all we get only the four ounces of 
bread and one ounce of salt. This is the Sabbath, 
wrote home to-day. 



296 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

January 2d. — Very cold, but calm and clear. 
I have a very bad cough and have had the blues 
about it, fearful of consumption. 

January 3d. — All getting better of colds. 
Weather moderated, cleared off. Our rations con- 
tinue the same, ten ounces of meal, four ounces of 
bread, and a few pickles. Hard living. 

January 4th. — A beautiful morning. It clouded 
up and rained last night, but clear this morning. 
This is my second son's birthday. Our officer's have 
eaten five or six cats in the last few days. Say they 
are good as rabbit. 

January 5th. — Benson complaining of pain in 
side. Eakins still on sick Hst, Nigs on guard and 
very saucy, need killing. We have to give the road 
to them, they threaten to bayonet us. They prom- 
enade the room all night. We don't crowd them, 
but would kill the saucy ones, if we had a half chance. 
Some I pity, as they are so dissipated, one told us 
that Sherman's army ran him down and shot at 
him, and forced him into service. They said that 
Wheeler's cavalry was killing all that returned, or 
he would have gone home. He wished he was at 
home then. 

January 6th. — Benson and Eakins still com- 
plaining. Cloudy and raining a little. We have 
shavings to sleep on now, and I am as proud of them 
as I used to be of a feather bed. I never rested 
better than I did last night. Have just finished my 



297 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

pillow slip by sewing my shirt-tails together and 
filled it with shavings for a pillow. 

January 7 th. — Eakins very poorly. Clear and 
cold. My eyes very weak, can scarcely see after 
night. A great many of the privates, some 48, took 
the oath yesterday. 

January 8th. — Eakins a little better. Quite cold 
this morning. This is the Sabbath and some 75 
privates took the oath. I wrote home to my wife 
and cousin Lizzie Russell to-day. 

January 9th. — Our colds not much better. My 
eyesight failing fast, can hardly see after night. 
Fifteen guns fired in honor of Secretary Stanton, 
this evening. 

January 10th. — Rained all last night, cloudy 
this morning. Ten days more to be fed on meal. 
What will become of me the Lord knows. 

January 11th. — Quite a change in the weather, 
getting cool, wind blowing, quite disagreeable. Sun 
shone for a few hours to-day. Three roll calls, as 
usual. 

January 12th. — A little warmer. Washday. 
Wrote to Mrs. Egerton at Baltimore. More news 
about exchange. 

January 13th. — Still a little warmer. All get- 
ting better of their colds. Had some fine soup 
yesterday and to-day, but to-morrow we starve as 
the vegetables have given out. Potatoes are worth 
$7.00, per barrel. I used to give them away. They 
weren't worth anything. 

298 



iffl^ft 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

January 14th. — Cool weather. Three years 
ago I was sworn into the Confederate service. We 
still live on com meal and pickles. The Provost- 
Marshal says, he would reduce us to less, if he 
thought we could live. The object is to just spare 
life. I think sometimes it is better to starve men 
to death, than treat them this way. 

January 15th. — Another Sabbath. Beautiful 
day, getting some warmer. My eyes no better, 
can hardly see after night, very weak in daytime. 

January 16th. — Eyes same. Wrote to Balti- 
more to-day. Our rations the same. 

January 17th. — Twenty months a prisoner. 
Bought a stove to-day, first time I have been 
thawed out this winter. Thirty-seven guns fired 
to-night, about nine o'clock. They say they have 
news of the fall of some Fort near Wilmington, N. C. 
We are allowed to receive boxes and money now. 
Wrote to my wife to-day. 

January 18th. — Tolerably pleasant do-day. No 
snow has fallen this winter. Wrote to W. P. How- 
ard at St. Louis, and Col. Wolford, making inquiry 
about a box and a keg of syrup, sent by my uncle in 
Florida, to me. 

January 19th. — All getting better of colds. 
Raining this morning, not very cold. 

January 20th. — Still cloudy and raining oc- 
casionally. Our officers hearing of Lieut. Davis 
applying for the oath, five of them. Captains Camp- 



299 



TEE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

bell, Perkins, Kitchen, Lieutenants Akers, and 
Casson, called him into a cell and cut the buttons off 
of his coat, took off his bars, and turned his coat 
wrong side out. He (Davis) reported them. They 
soon arrested the above named, with Col. Manning. 
I don't think the Colonel had anything to do with 
it. These gentlemen were soon locked up in cells 
without trial to sleep on pine poles. My eyes are 
some better. Head swims a great deal. I stagger 
as I walk and almost fall down, weakness is the 
cause and the cause of weakness is shortness of 
rations. Ten ounces of meal and four ounces of 
flour per day to the man, for eleven days, and that is 
all of January, with a few poisonous pickles. This 
will make one and one-half months that we have 
been kept on such rations. I think it will wind us 
up by spring. Received two letters from wife, one 
notifying me of a $50.00 check being sent (it is not 
to be found); also $1.00 worth of stamps. 

January 21st. — Cloudy and still raining. I 
feel very unwell, spinning in my head, sore throat, 
and weakness. Wrote home to my wife about 
check and telling her to send my box. 

January 2 2d. — Still cloudy and raining. I 
received two letters from home, one only twelve 
days out. They are generally out a month. 

January 23d. — Cloudy, rained all last night, 
and raining occasionally. Took a dose of medicine 
to-day, feel like I was going to be sick. Am very 
weak, can hardly walk. 

300 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

January 24th. — It is clear and cold this morn- 
ing. On Sunday the 5th of this month, Captains 
G. R. Campbell and T. F. Perkins, and a private, 
Deniem procured Federal uniforms and passed out 
about dark. One of these Captains had an officer's 
uniform. These three gentlemen, passed down to 
Seabrook, eight miles distant, meeting with a negro 
and telling what the arrangements were, which was 
to get a boat across the river and proceed toward 
Savannah, where they had a large box of fine liquor, 
in bottles, of which they promised the negro one, and 
$10.00 to find the boat and pilot them. All the time 
abusing the Rebels and saying he never expected to 
take one of them, and they joining in with him. 
They came across the Negro Recruiting Officer and 
he encouraged them never to take a Rebel. They 
did not succeed in getting a boat, then it was what 
to do. They concluded to return, which they did 
and made it successfully. Capt. Perkins fainting 
on the road. Had a hard time to get him back. 
They traveled about twenty miles that night, which 
was a big tramp for men that had been fed on pickles 
and corn meal. 

January 25th. — Clear and cold. I feel very 
bad to-day. We still hear grape about the late 
prisoners going North. 

January 26th. — Clear and very cold. I feel 
some better to-day. I wrote to my wife and to S. 
R. Selecman at Johnson's Island. Our rations con- 



301 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

tinue the same, ten ounces of mean, spoiled meal, 
four oimces of good flour, and a few pickles, this is 
per day; two ounces of salt for ten days. Have 
not had soup since the 15th of December. Meat 
and nearly everything else were played out then. 

January 27th. — Clear and very cold. I have 
been quite sick, but feel much better. Had my 
washing done for the first time in twelve months. 
We drew four ounces of pickled beef and four ounces 
of Irish potatoes this evening, the first we have had 
since the 14th of December; making forty-four days 
living on ten ounces of corn meal, spoiled at that, 
four ounces of bread or flour, and a few pickles; 
two ounces of salt for ten days. Hard living, nearly 
half the men sick and would have died had it not 
been for the Yankee surgeon informing Gen. Foster, 
if he did not increase the rations, it was no use to 
give medicine, as they all would die. The order 
soon came for us to receive the above rations. 

January 28th. — Clear and very cool. I think I 
am improving slowly. All the rest keeping up. 
To-day all of Sherman's capture sent North, the 
unlucky boys remain on hand. Lieut. Campbell is 
very sick and they say will die. 

January 29th. — This is the Sabbath. Clear and 
cold. I am not much better. Got some cough 
drops to-day that helped me very much. 

January 30th. — Clear and beautiful. Mod- 
erated very much. Took three doses of quinine. 



302 



. 

1 


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K 


s 


M^yt 4 




ip 


m . 



CAPTAIN W. H. GRIFFIN 
VIRGINIA 



(Merchant) 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Rations very short to-day. We have a little soup 
without bread. 

January 31th. — Clear and beautiful, not very 
cold. I keep about the same. Better of a morning 
and worse of evenings. I make a drunken man com- 
plete, head swims and I am so weak I stagger when 
I walk. Rations issued to us for ten days; one- 
quarter pound of pickled pork, one-quarter pound of 
potatoes, ten ounces of damaged meal, four ounces 
of good flour, a few pickles, and half as much salt 
as we use. No soap has been issued for us since the 
14th of December. 

February 1st. — Clear beautiful morning. Heavy 
frost last night. I feel some better this morning. 

February 2d. — Cloudy or rather foggy, not very 
cold. Allen sick. I am not much better, am weak. 
I think I have scurvy, it is quite common among us. 

February 3d. — Cloudy and raining, not very 
cold. Allen no better. I keep the same. Wrote 
home to my wife. 

February 4th. — A little foggy, warm and pleas- 
ant. I am not very well to-day, eyes very bad, 
especially at night. Allen on the mend. Music in 
town to-night. The brass band playing most beauti- 
fully. A beautiful night up to twelve o'clock, then 
it commenced raining. I coughed nearly all night. 

February 5th.— This is the Sabbath. Feel 
much better this morning. A nice pleasant day, all 
getting along tolerably well, considering. 



303 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

February 6th. — Cloudy. All keep up, but very 
weak. Little cool. 

February 7th. — Rained all last night, very cool 
and cloudy. Rations very short. We nearly 
starve for something to eat. What will we do if it 
gets no better? 

February 8th. — Clear and cool this morn. We 
had a little corn bread for breakfast, and borrowed 
a little grease skimmed off the fat, and made gravy, 
which constituted our breakfast. 

February 9th. — All moving along about the 
same. Great deal of grape about exchange and 
peace, Lincoln meeting our peace Commissioners 
at Fort Monroe. A great deal of speculation, fear- 
ful it is all talk. 

February 10th. — This is the day for drawing 
rations. We draw, ten ounces of meal, four ounce 
of flour, four ounces of potatoes, four ounces of 
pork, making twenty- two ounces of provisions per 
day, per man. We get two tablespoons of salt for 
ten days, we make it do now. We have commenced 
drawing meat, we get no soap. Weather clear 
and very cold. 

February 11th. — Clear and more pleasant, nice 
day. Lieut. Campbell still lives, but very low. 
Thirteen guns fired. Received a letter from big 
Jack to-day. 

February 12th. — Clear and cool. I am still on 
the sick list. 



304 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

February 13th. — Clear and cool for this climate. 
Flour is worth fifteen cents per pound, Irish po- 
tatoes, $3.00 per bushel, or $8.33 per barrel (three 
bushel in one barrel), beans ten cents per pound, they 
are cheapest for us to buy. Money gone and can't 
buy anything. Received letter from my wife. All 
well. 

February 14th. — This is Valentine Day and it 
is raining. I feel quite poorly, have a distressing 
cough. 

February 15th. — Rained all last night hard. I 
feel a little worse, hope it will not last long. Cloudy 
and warm this morn. Cleared off and a fine day. 
Great exchange news. We will soon be free once 
more, I think. Wrote home to my wife to-day. 

February 16th. — A lovely day, clear and pleas- 
ant. News is we get full prison rations, until we 
leave. Not come yet, rations short. 

February 17th. — Clear and pleasant in the 
morning, wind raised and blustery. I have been a 
prisoner twenty-one months. 

February 18th. — Clear and beautiful. I feel 
better than I have for ten days. 

Febmary 19th.— Clear. Lieut. W. C. Camp- 
bell, died last night at ten o'clock with diarrhoea. 
Feel worse, caught cold last night and nearly wore 
myself out coughing. We learn of the fall of Charles- 
ton and to-day about one hundred guns were fired. 
We are still expecting to start on exchange shortly. 



305 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

February 20th. — Full prison rations were given 
to us to-day, making size last six months. We have 
seen the elephant in all his forms. I feel much 
better. Eyes no better. Weather clear and cool. 
We get for rations per day, one-half pound of meal, 
one-half pound of flour, ten ounces of pork and bacon, 
one-half pint of beans or peas, for eight days; also 
half bar of soap for four men. 

February 21st. — Received a letter from Capt. 
Furnish and one from J. L. Bennett, and answered 
them both. Cloudy and cool. I feel better to-day. 

February 2 2d. — Washington's Birthday. Many 
salutes fired. Cloudy and pleasant. Great many 
washing, preparing for exchange. 

February 23d. — Cloudy and raining a little. 
Lieut. John Long of the 10th Regiment died of in- 
flamation of the bowels, death quite sudden. 

February 24th. — Cloudy and raining a little, 
pleasant. I feel much better, almost like a new man. 
Received my check for $50.00; one from Brother 
Joe Bennett, and one from my wife yesterday. 

February 25th. — Cloudy this morning and a 
little cool. I think it will clear off soon. Wrote to 
my wife to-day. 

February 26th. — Cloudy and raining, quite 
pleasant. I am improving, but yet not much better. 

February 27th. — Very foggy and warm this 
morning. No grape about leaving, on the mend 
slowly. 



306 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

February 28th. — Cloudy and dark with some 
rain. All called out to give our names, rank, 
regiment, and whether we wanted to go to Fortress 
Monroe for exchange or to take the oath and go to 
New York. Not many went to the latter place. 
All keen for exchange. I went out to the sutler's 
store to-day. Cashed my check (or duplicate); 
found goods very high; shoes, $7.00 per pair, 
coarse gingham shirts $2.40. Everything in pro- 
portion. Our ten days rations the same as the last, 
we get plenty of soap now and salt, our meat 
rations are very good at present, beans, musty, but 
too few to make a noise about. 

March 1st. — It rained all last night. Capt. 
Baly is very sick. Cloudy this morning. Wash- 
day. The first time I washed for sometime. I feel 
much better to-day. 

March 2d. — Cloudy and a little rain, warm and 
pleasant. All anxious to start to Dixie. All that 
receive money can get a chance to spend it before 
we leave. 

March 3d. — Clear and beautiful. I had the 
privilege of going to the sutlers store, bought pants, 
haversack, and other articles, soon spent $50.00. 
We are expecting to be called out to start to Fortress 
Monroe, every minute. 

March 4th. — Little cloudy, wind feels like rain. 
While I was out yesterday I found at the express 
office, two boxes; one for Capt. Low and one for 



307 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

Lieut. Pens of Pulaski. I notified the Provost- 
Marshall of the fact. Called out about four o'clock 
to leave, marched to the wharf, and soon put aboard 
of a steamer, but finding it too small to accomodate 
us we were put aboard of the large steamer " Illinois" 
about seven p. m. Lay all night up to twelve 
o'clock the next day. 

March 5th. — Cloudy and pleasant. A great 
many are seasick. I am in fine health. This is 
the Sabbath. 

March 6th, — Ran all last night, but met a 
strong breeze this morning, our speed is not so great. 
Cloudy this morning. I keep well so far. 

March 7th. — A beautiful day. Awfully crowd- 
ed and a bad smell, many sick aboard. Arrived at 
Fortress Monroe at midnight, anchored in Hamp- 
ton Roads. 

March 8th. — Cloudy and raining, pleasant 
weather. Waiting for orders, no orders come yet. 
We move a little before dark for the mouth of the 
James River, anchored all night. 

March 9th. — Cloudy and pleasant. About 
eight o'clock weighed anchor and started for Norfolk. 
Arrived about nine o'clock, anchored off the city. 
Awaiting orders and they say they are wanting coal. 
Horrible smell on board this morning. 

March 10th. — I slept on upper deck, it rained 
nearly all night on us. Still cloudy with a little 
rain; also grape afloat. Sunset clear. Loading 



308 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

coal last night and to-day. Many of our officers go 
ashore to see their friends, and some of their friends 
come aboard to see them. 

March 11th. — Clear and beautiful. Very cool 
last night. About eight o'clock, weighed anchor. 
Bound for some new prison, can't tell yet. Soon 
found we were on the road for Fort Delaware. 
Men dying to-day. Lieut. Edwards was soon 
thrown overboard, but they did not let the Com- 
mander know the other man was dead until the next 
morning. 

March 12th. — Clear and beautiful. Nobody 
allowed on deck, only as they pass to and from the 
privy. Arrived at the Fort at ten o'clock. One 
private died on board to-day. It took until night to 
unload and examine us. 

March. 13th. — Wrote to Selecman, wife and to 
Howard of St. Louis, A beautiful day. I am im- 
proving fast. Ate a good supper with friend Wm. 
Casey. Last day no roll call. Our rations very 
short here (about half enough). 

March 14th. — Clear and very beautiful. Wrote 
to Brother Thomas to-day. All well. 

March 15th. — Cloudy and a Httle rain, warm 
and pleasant. All of our sick and wounded pardoned 
to go in exchange. Rations quite short, but very 
good. 

March 16th. — Very cloudy and damp. Warm 
and pleasant, it is now clearing off. Wrote to Cousin 
Lizzie Russell and J. M. Bohart. 

309 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

March. I7th. — All well. Clear and quite cold. 
I slept cold last night, don't feel so well by it. Twen- 
ty-two months ago I was made a prisoner. Eight 
of our number have died since we arrived here and 
more will soon. The seed of death was sown in the 
department of the South or near Charleston. 

March. 18th. — All well. Clear and cool. 
Mouse got in my hat last night, and cut his way out, 
spoiling a new hat. Rations very short, about four 
or five ounces of meat and ten ounces of bread is 
all we get. All that have money can live well, as we 
have a sutler that keeps nearly everything, but prices 
are enormous. Coffee, $1.20 per pound, sugar, six- 
ty cents, cheese, fifty cents, butter, ninety, lard, 
thirty-five, bacon, thirty-five cents per pound. 
Shoes from $7.00 to $15.00 per pair. Paper $1.00 
per quire, envelopes fifty cents per bunch, they have 
fallen some in price in the last few days, on their 
goods. Wrote to Sister Lucy. 

March 19th. — A beautiful, pleasant Sabbath 
day. Heard Lieut. Thomas preach to-day. 

March 20th. — Clear and very warm. A beauti- 
ful day. All well. 

March 21th. — All well. Another beautiful day, 
warm and pleasant. The sick and wounded leave 
to-day and some few other officers, together with 
600 privates. Wrote home to-day. 

March 22d.— Clear and cold. All well. At 
night the officers had a concert for the benefit and 



310 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

use of the Hilton Head sick and destitute. Raised 
about $100.00 and one hundred pounds of tobacco, 
which was distributed among them. 

March 23d. — ^AU well. Quite cold and windy. 
Disagreeable. Our rations yesterday shorter than 
common, two mouthfuls of meat and six crackers, 
per day. Wind blew the fence down between us 
and privates yesterday. Raining a little. 

March. 24th. — All well. Cold and windy. Ex- 
change played out. Heard of Sherman's defeat. 

March 25th. — Clear and a little warmer, cloudy 
during the day. 

March 26th. — Sabbath day. Quite cool and 
clear. All well. Wrote to Brother Thomas for 
money. 

March 27th.— All well. Washday. All called 
and a thorough search. Two men found over in the 
privates' pen. Quite ragged. All our old clothes 
taken from us. All of the parade officers called out 
to be ready to start to Dixie in a few moments 
warning. Wrote to Capt. Burnes at Johnson's 
Island this lovely day. 

March 28th. — All well and improving in flesh. 
It has the appearance of raining. Officers called out, 
not gone yet. 

March 29th.— Officers still here. All well. 
Still looks like rain, but none yet. 

March. 30th. — This is quite a rainy day, warm, 
growing weather. Parole officers not left yet. 
Wrote to my wife. 

311 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

... 1-^-,—- ^— 

March 31st. — Still raining and warm. All well. 

April 1st. — Cloudy and cool. Roll call, one a 
day. Paroled prisoners still here. 

April 2d. — Clear and cooU A beautiful Sab- 
bath morning. 

April 3d. — A beautiful day. All well. Hear 
bad news. They say Richmond's fallen. I don't 
believe it, yet the Lord knows. Received a letter 
from J. L. Bennett. 

April 4th. — Another nice day. We will have to 
move out directly to white-wash. We have good 
order in our division now. No one is allowed to 
spit on the floor, or spill water, under penalty of 
damage of five cents, this to be paid in money, or 
extra duty performed. Wrote to J. L. Bennett, 
to-day. 

April 5th. — ^All well. Pleasant weather. Rich- 
mond has fallen and the Yankees think the rebellion 
crushed. They will find more have to die before that 
is done. No meat for dinner, a half-pint of bean 
soup and a small piece of bread makes our dinner. 

April 6th. — Warm and raining. All well. 
Concert tonight, proceeds for the use and benefit of 
the sick and destitute. This makes three times they 
have performed, making $100.00 and a hundred 
plugs of tobacco. Scurvy rages very^bad among the 
Hilton Head prisoners. 

April 7th. — Warm and cloudy. All well. No 
news this morning. Raining. 



312 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

April 8th. — A beautiful day. All well. News 
here yesterday that Lee and all his army were cap- 
tured. Received letter from home and answered it. 

April 9th. — Cloudy, with a little rain, very cool. 
No news of importance. All well. 

April 10th. — StiU cloudy with a little rain. 
Eight ofificers called out this morning that were 
Captains in Arkansas, for exchange, together with 
eighty privates. All well. To-day we were notified 
we could send for boxes of all kinds of provisions and 
clothes. Wrote a letter to my wife, one to Howard, 
at St. Louis, and one to Clasby. 

April 11th. — All well. Cloudy and looks like 
rain. Oh, we hear such bad news, Gen. R. E. Lee, 
has surrendered his army to U. S. Grant. What 
will become of us nobody knows. Many conjectures 
about our punishment. It is enough to know our 
army has gone and our cause hopeless. Are we 
wrong? I think not, but we are overpowered. I 
cannot see the error of our way yet. God help us 
is my prayer, and submit to our fate. 

April 12th. — All well. Cloudy yet, weather un- 
settled. Very muddy. All news bad yet. None 
good for us. 

April 13th. — All well. Clearing off, quite cool. 
News is the field and staff officers to be put in another 
prison for retaliation. 

April 14th. — Clear and cool. Some frost last 
night. Wrote to Howard at St. Louis and to J. L. 
Bennett. 



313 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

April 15th. — All well. Cloudy and raining. 
All astonished at seeing the flag at half mast this 
morning. News soon came of the death of Pres- 
ident Abraham Lincoln. No one believed it at 
first, but soon found out it was a stern reality and 
all seemed to regret it, as they thought it worse for 
us. Secretary Seward was stabbed at the same time 
in his bed, he being thrown from his carriage a few 
days previous and badly hurt. His son was killed. 
A barbarous deed. 

April 16th. — ^All well. Clear this morning, but 
soon clouded and raining. They are firing a gun 
every half hour in remembrance of the President, 
commencing at sun rise. Wrote to my wife. 

April 17th. — Clear and beautiful. No news of 
importance. All well. That is our mess. Wind 
cool. 

April 18th. — Clear and beautiful, rather cold. 
They stopped us getting coal, can't make coffee now. 
They are moving out the fence and moving the 
sutler's store. We hear Mobile has surrendered 
with 6,000 prisoners; also Mosby's command and 
hear Joseph E. Johnston has ^to, but doubt if soon. 

April 19th. — Clear and beautiful. All well. 
Warm and pleasant. Extra rations have been cut 
off from those that have been buying them on 
account of the President being assassinated. That 
is their version of the story. 

April 20th. — Cloudy and quite cool and rainy. 
Took out the stoves this morning. 

314 



■ 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

April 21th. — Cloudy and quite cool. All well. 
Made application for the oath this morning. The 
most solemn act of my life. 

April 22d. — All well. Cloudy. No news. 

April 23d. — Sabbath. Heard Capt. Harris 
preach. Wrote to my wife. 

April 24th. — All well. Clear and moderate. 
Roll call once a day and hardtack all the time. 
Only six a day, being one-half pound of bread with 
four ounces of meat and a pint of thin soup, is our 
rations per day. 

April 25th. — All well. A lovely day, warm and 
pleasant. All anxious to know our fate. News 
reached us yesterday of the surrender of J. E. 
Johnston to Sherman, but was not accepted by the 
Federal Government. Grant was immediately sent 
to take command. Received and wrote to cousin 
Mary A. Taggart, Ky., and to J. L. Bennett, in Mo. 

April 26th.— A beautiful day. All well. Get 
hardtack nearly all the time. 

April 27th. — All well. Nice washday. Called 
out to give us the advantage of oath. Got down 
to the letter "G", half had taken it. Wrote to my 
wife. 

April 28th. — All well. Beautiful weather. 
No news. 

April 29th. — All well. Cloudy and rained very 
hard in evening. We hear Johnson has surrendered. 
Wrote to J. L. Bennett. 



315 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

April 30th. — All well. Clear, clouded up before 
night. 

May 1st. — Cloudy and raining, very disagree- 
able. My time for making coffee. Had a hard time 
of it. 

May 2d. — Clear. All well. Offering the oath 
again, all took it, but 115 out of 1,900. 

May 3d. — All well. A nice morning. All ex- 
pect to start home soon. 

May 4th. — All well. Nice weather, warm and 
pleasant. The galvanized Rebels are leaving here 
every day. 

May 5th. — All well. Nice weather. W. H. 
Allen left our mess yesterday. By our concert we 
learn of the surrender of Gen. Jeff. Thompson, to- 
day. Wrote to my wife. 

May 6th. — All well. Nice weather. No news. 

May 7th. — All well. Clear and beautiful. 
Heard of the surrender of Gen. Kirby Smith to the 
United States forces. All of the Confederate army 
is gone and we must have peace now. Had grape 
to-day of the Hilton Head prisoners. Had to be 
sent to Richmond for retaliation. I hardly think it 
so as we have suffered death twice already. 

May 8th. — All well. Cloudy and rained a little. 
No improvement. 

May 9th. — All well. Cloudy and raining. A 
disagreeable day. 

May 10th. — All well. Cloudy, weather un- 



316 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

settled. Heard to-day of the surrender of Dick 
Taylor Commanding. Wrote to my wife. About 
twenty-seven officers were released to-day. All 
those that applied before the fall of Richmond. 

May 1 1th. — Cloudy and in the evening it rained. 

May 12th. — All well. Rained all night last 
night, clearing off beautiful this morning. Some 
more of the galvanized left this morning for home. 

May 13th. — Clear, nice beautiful day. All 
well. Wrote to Gen. Hitchcock to-day at Wash- 
ington. 

May 14th. — All well. A lovely morning. 
Wrote to Gen. Craig at St. Joseph. No news of 
importance. 

May 15th. — All well. A beautiful day. Wrote 
to John Taggart to have released, and wrote to my 
wife. 

May 16th. — All well. Nice weather. We learn 
they have Jefferson Davis in prison. 

May 18th. — All well. A nice morning, turned 
cold this evening and looks like rain. Capt. Car- 
son died this morning. 

May 19th. — All well. Cloudy and cool, mist of 
rain falling. No change in rations or roll call. 

May 20th. — Cloudy and heavy rain. Wrote to 
my wife. 

May 21st. — All well. Cloudy and raining. 
Some few leave here every day on special release. 
This is the Sabbath. 



317 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 



May 2 2d. — Cloudy. No news. 

May 23d. — All well. Clear and beautiful, nice 
day. 

May 24th. — Clear and beautiful. Quite cool 
last night. Benson and I wrote to Pennybaker at 
Washington. 

May 25th.— All well. Clear. Cloudy this 
morning, looks like rain. We have hardtack often 
these days. My mouth is very sore, have scurvy in 
it. Wrote to Gen. Craig and my wife. 

May 26th. — All well. Cloudy and raining a 
little. Received two letters from home to-day. 
Heard of the death of my dear sister. She died on 
the 26th of March, with consumption. 

May 27th. — Cloudy and raining and very cold 
for this time of the year. One of the sentinel's gun 
fired accidentally and killed one and wounded 
another. They are too careless with their guns. One 
man taken out day before yesterday, hand-cuffed 
and tied him up by the thumbs for writing a contra- 
band, I understand it is very abuse. 

May 28th. — All well. Clearing off. Some 
meals we get no meat for dinner, we get a little thin 
soup and bread. Wrote to my wife for money. 
Sabbath day. Heard two sermons to-day. 

May 29th.— All well. Clear and beautiful 
morning, a pleasant day. Wrote to J. H. Selecman, 
for money to-day. Just learned of the surrender of 
Gen. Kirby Smith. All that are released have to 
furnish their own transportation. 



318 



-^ 








I 


1 
/ 1 



(HONORABLE) MAJOR W. E. STEWART 
MARYLAND 
(Attorney at Law) 



1 



THE IMMORTAL SIX HUNDRED 

May 30th.— All well. A beautiful day. My 
release came to-day, a welcome visitor. I start 
for home in the morning. 

May 31st. — ^A beautiful day. All well. I 
started for Philadelphia at eight o'clock in the morn- 
ing, arrived at eleven o'clock. Took the cars at 
half after three for St. Louis, via Chicago. 

June 1st. — Quite cool this morning at sunrise. 
Clear and a beautiful day. 

June 2d. — Clear and nice. Arrived in Dunkirk 
at eight a. m., left half after six p. m. 

June 3d. — A nice day, clear and warm. Ar- 
rived in Cleveland at five a. m., departed at nine 
a. m. 

June 4th. — Arrived at Chicago at six a. m. 
Departed at seven fifteen p. m. Clear and beauti- 
ful. Arrived at St. Louis at nine a. m. 

June 5th. — Departed on steamer "Jennie 
Dine" for Hannibal. 

A. M. Bedford. 

Capt. D. C. Grayson's 10th Va. Regt., Diary 
corroborates this Diary in all things we had to 
eat at Fort Pulaski. The rations at Hilton Head, 
were little better than we received. 



319 



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Floyds, Va. 

Tazewell County 

Louisville, Ky. 

Pittsylvania County 

Alexandria 

Lee County 

Lynchburg, Va. 

Petersburg 

Elk Creek 

Winchester 

Long Glade 

Lexington 

Green Briar Co. 

Richmond 

Prince Edw. C. H. 

Glade Springs Depot 

Washington Co. 

Washington Co. 

Louisa County 


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Near Wash., D. C, July, 1864 
Near Richmond, May 11, 1864 
Milford Station, May 21, 1864 
Spotts. C.H., May 12, 1864.. 
Spotts. C. H., May 12, 1864.. 
Brandy Station, June 9, 1863.. 
Yellow Tavern, May 11, 1864. 
Spottsylvania C. H., 1864. . . . 
Spottsylvania C. H., 1864. . . . 
Chpstprfif-ld. 1S64. 


Morton's Ford, Feb. 6, 1864 . . 
Spottsylvania C. H., May, '64 
Spottsylvania C. H., May, '64 

Gettysburg, July 3, 1863 

Cold Harbor, June, 1864 

Albemarle Sound, May, 1864.. 
Spottsylvania C. H., May, '64 
Spottsylvania C. H., May, '64 
Spottsylvania C. H., May, '64 
Spottsylvania C. H., May, '64 
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Isaac Coles 

S. M. Dent.... 
C. D. Hall .... 
E. Lee Bell .... 
H. C. Howlett . . 
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J. W. 0. Funk3 . 
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A. G. Hudgins°. 
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S. J. Hutton . . . 
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E. A. Rosenblan 
S. A. Johnson . . 



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Raymond, Miss., 1863 

Gettysburg, Pa., July, 1863. . . 
Deer Creek, Miss., Jan., 1864. 
Franklin. Tenn.. 1863 






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F. J. Duval 

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Dallas, Texas 
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Cheshire, Ohio, 1863 

Cheshire, Ohio, 1863 

Syracuse, Ohio, 1863 

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Salensville, Ohio, 1863 .. . 
Mt. Liberty, Oct., 1863 . . 


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Under fire, 558. 

Not under fire, 42. 

Total number sent from Fort Delaware, 600. 

This list was made October 16, 1864; changes 
not noted except removal of Captain Boyd and 
the wounding of Captain Blair and Lieutenant 
Harris by negro sentinel at Morris Island, S. C. 



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Feb. 16, 1865 
Feb. 16, 1865 
Feb. 16, 1865 
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Feb. 16, 1865 


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January 20, 1865 

January 20, 1865 

January 20, 1865 

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1 


3d Ark. 

llthTenn. 

12th N. C. 

Scout 

nth Va. 
17th Miss. 


1 


Colonel 
Capt. 


5s 

6 


;! 


Van H. Maning . . 
Thos. T. Perkins.. 
Wm. H. Kitchens. 
G. R. Campbell . . 
Peter B. Akers. .. 
Jno. R. Casson.. . 




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